PokeWing Z
by Kuwabara Shizuru
Summary: Episode 3 up! With Misty in their clutches, Wayne and Janine challenge Ash to a battle! Can Ash defeat these two new Rockets and save his best friend? Rated K for mild swearing.
1. Cruisin' for a Bruisin!

PokeWing Z, Episode 1: Cruisin' for a Bruisin'!

A crossover fic by Dustin M. Dixon/ThatGuyWithStuff/Kuwabara Shizuru

In the bright, barely cloudy sky that loomed over the vast oceans of the Orange Archipelago, a ragtag trio of friends continued their journey back to the mainland of Kanto. Atop the knobby shell of a Lapras sat 12 year old Orange League Champion Ash Ketchum, who fiddled around with a small rectangular electronic device as his jet-black hair wafted gently to and fro with the breeze. Next to him was his longtime companion, 13 year old former Cerulean City Gym leader Misty Waterflower, whose emerald-green eyes were staring down at the lapping water, intensely focused as she held her detachable fishing rod, armed with her special lure shaped like a plastic miniature of Misty herself, which was currently submerged in an attempt to capture a new Water Pokemon. Her red hair, held off in a spiky ponytail on her left side through use of a scrunchie, was soaked with condensation from the sea breeze. Next to her, his dark green hair kept out of his eyes by his salmon colored headband, sat Orange Archipelago native and most recent member of the group, Tracey Sketchit, who had his trusty drawing pad in hand as he furiously ran his pencil across the surface. "Not a bad idea sailing through a herd of Seadra, Ash." Tracey spoke up. "I'm getting a LOT of good scenery."

"Cool!" Ash acknowledged, glancing over at Misty. "Any bites?"

"No…" Misty grumbled. "I think the other Pokémon are scared by the Seadra." she slowly raised the hook out of the water, quickly disassembling her rod and putting it away. "Oh well." she shrugged with a smile. "You excited?" she turned her head to the leader of the ragtag group. "We're going to land in Kanto in a couple of hours! You must miss your mom!"

"Eh…" Ash shrugged. "I guess I'm used to being away from home at this point. Still… it'll be nice to check in while I'm around there."

"Speaking of Pallet Town…" Tracey startled Ash by showing up next to him suddenly. "You're going to introduce me to Professor Oak in person, right?"

"A… absolutely!" Ash shut his eyes with a big grin as a large sweatdrop appeared on the side of his face. Just then, he felt short, stubby claws digging lightly into him, as Pikachu climbed onto his shoulder. With an excited cry of "Pika pi-ka!", he frantically pointed toward a large cruise ship approaching fast… right into Lapras' path.

"Where the heck did that come from?!" Tracey asked, wide-eyed.

"Does it matter?! We're gonna crash into it!" Misty shrieked.

"Lapras, swerve out of the way!" Ash frantically waved his arms. The Lapras responded with a frightened cry, and the trio screamed as they collided with the cruise liner, the force of Lapras' impact diminished due to Lapras' slowed pace, but still enough to send them toppling off of the Pokémon's back.

(Title) Cruisin' for a Bruisin'!

(Silhouette) Ash and Pikachu

Ash emerged from underneath the waves with a loud gasp.

"Lapras, return!" Ash called out, returning the large aquatic Pokemon to its safe haven within the Pokeball. He then looked around worriedly. "Pikachu! Misty! Tracey!"

"Ash!"

"Pikapi!"

Ash turned his head to see Tracey and Pikachu floating about ten feet to his left, with Misty's Togepi in Tracey's arms. He looked around quickly for any signs of Misty. Deducing what, or who, Ash was looking for, Tracey began scouting around as well.

"I can't spot her, Ash!"

"…" Ash took a deep breath and submerged once more. Almost immediately, several feet below, he spotted Misty diving for… his hat? He reached up by instinct and felt his wild black hair, no longer covered by his official Pokémon League Expo Hat. He turned his head and saw an oncoming Gyarados. Realizing it would reach and likely eat Misty in the time it would take her to snatch his hat and swim back, he made a beeline for her, wrapping one arm around her waist and giving her a scare as he swam quickly for the surface. As soon as he emerged, he took note that the cruise ship had stopped, and that Tracey and Pikachu, with Togepi in tow, were already atop the rope ladder that had been lowered.

"Ash, what—" Misty gasped as the Gyarados emerged.

"Talk later! Swim for it!" Ash shouted, as he and Misty swam for their lives, narrowly evading the Gyarados' gaping maw as they scrambled up the ladder. The vibration made from it hitting the side of the cruise ship was much more significant, however, than Lapras' previous impact, causing Misty to lose her grip. As she fell backwards, Ash's right hand shot down and caught hers.

"I got you!" he shouted. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

"PI-KAAAA-CHUUUUUUUUU!" the electric rodent shouted as it unleashed a massive bolt of lightning, striking the Gyarados straight and true. When the Thunderbolt-induced light show had ended, Gyarados collapsed onto the water with swirly eyes. As Ash and Misty climbed aboard the ship proper, Ash turned, pulling a Pokeball and enlarging it.

"Pokeball GO!" he watched as the ball opened and the Gyarados converted to light energy and was sealed momentarily in the ball's confines. The ball shook once.

"C'mon…"

Twice.

Three times… and was still.

"Phew…" Ash breathed a sigh of relief as a crew member tossed over a net immediately to catch the Pokeball. Hauling it up, the young woman, a short-brunette haired girl dressed in a sailor's outfit and looking no older than 25, handed the ball over to Ash.

"Here you go sir, that was quite a catch!" she complimented him.

"Heh, well…" Ash blushed slightly as he rubbed the back of his head. "I just caught it so it wouldn't drown while unconscious." He was reminded, as he rubbed the back of his head, of the loss of his hat, as he walked over to the railing and looked down at the sea longingly, knowing his hat was now lost forever.

"Ash…your hat… I'm sorry." Misty walked up by him, taking note of the fact that he looked like he was about to cry. Ash remained silent for a few seconds more before swallowing back any tears he might have been ready to shed.

"It's alright. I wasn't about to lose my best friend over some dumb hat." he turned to her with a smile. Misty returned the smile half-heartedly as Tracey popped up between them.

"At least you got a new Pokémon out of the deal, right?"

"R… right." Ash chuckled monosyllabically. "Anyway, sorry to cause all the trouble." he turned to all the passengers who had been gawking at them. "I'll get out my Lapras so we can get out of your hair."

"Wait a second, young man." a man who was dressed in a more formal naval suit walked out. He had short white hair combed neatly and was holding his hat to his chest currently. "I'm the captain of this cruise liner, and I know this ocean like the back of my hand… " he trailed off, freeing up one of his hands to sweep it out toward the ocean. "This is Gyarados mating season, and they really like to mate around these waters. It'd be far too dangerous to make the crossing through this area on a mere Lapras." he gestured toward a staircase leading down. "We had some last-minute cancellations right before we set sail on this voyage, so there are exactly three beds available."

"Well that's… convenient." Misty cupped her chin with her right hand, deep in thought. She could swear she recognized the slight rasp in the captain's voice…

"Penny for your thoughts?" Tracey piped up.

"Huh?" she snapped back to reality momentarily. "Oh! It's… nothing…" she trailed off once more.

"Anyway, I insist the three of you stay here." the captain shooed them down the stairs and down the narrow hallway, arriving at a cabin marked "2018". He unlocked the door, allowing the trio access. As they settled in, Tracey interrupted Misty's thought process once more by handing her Togepi, who happily chirped as it was hugged firmly by the grateful teenage girl. Ash wordlessly climbed up into his bunk and faced away from his friends.

"Ash, what are you doing?" Misty crossed her arms as best she could for holding her Togepi.

"Goin' to bed." he remarked simply, faking a yawn as he closed his eyes.

"Ash, it's like 2 in the afternoon." Tracey frowned.

"Look, I'm sorry about your hat, but it's gone." Misty said. "I was about to reach it if you hadn't…" she heard Ash sigh.

"I know… but I didn't want you to DIE to get it back. It just has… a lot of sentimental value."

"Sentimental? It's a hat, Ash. You can get another one." Misty turned her attention down to Togepi as it let out a shrill cry for its mother's affections.

"…I'm gonna get some air."

"I thought you were going to bed!" Tracey exclaimed.

"I will here in a bit." Ash shrugged, leaving the cabin without another word.

"…What's with him?" Tracey pondered. Misty stood for a second, once again cupping her chin with a free hand, before walking to the door herself.

"Can you… give me a few minutes to talk to Ash?"

"Sure, but what's going on?" Tracey asked.

"I'll tell you later. Here, Togepi… stay with Tracey and Pikachu!" she spoke to the baby Pokemon, setting it down as it chirped. Pikachu poked at Misty's calf really quickly with an exclamation of "Pika pika pikapi!"

"Just stay here, Pikachu. I'll bring him back to the cabin." she smiled before running out. She traced the path they had taken to get back out to the deck proper, where she saw Ash standing alone, peering over the rail once more.

"…You gonna stupidly dive in after it cause I'm a bit down about it?" Ash spoke up without turning around.

"…Are you?" Misty rebutted. "Ash… what's with that hat? You nearly got mauled to death by your old Primeape two years ago for it."

"…It doesn't matter now. It's gone." Ash sighed. "So don't worry, I'm not gonna jump in after it. You can go back to the cabin now." He was only half-surprised as Misty instead walked up to stand by his side.

"You called me your best friend earlier..." she trailed off, looking over to Ash.

"Yeah. I did."

"Well don't you think you can trust your best friend with the background information on that hat?" she sighed as Ash turned to walk away. However, he stopped mid-escape to speak up again.

"…Dad was the one who got that hat for me."

"…Oh…!" Misty gasped.

"It was the last thing he did before he left on his Pokémon journey six years ago… and just… vanished. It was the last thing I had to remember him by." he turned to face her, and she could see the tears he swallowed back had come back with a vengeance, flowing freely now. "Letting that hat go…"

"Makes you feel like you lost him all over again…" Misty muttered. She walked over to him and, after a brief pause, threw her arms around her friend. His voice cracked as he spoke up again.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" he repeated several times.

"It's all right…" she repeated for every time he uttered those two broken words.

The captain sat down in his chair, seeming to loom over the ship as he looked down on the two friends embracing. Just then, the female sailor from earlier walked in.

"I should have been captain." she pouted.

"You always get to be in charge. I think this is a nice change of pace." the captain smirked coolly, his voice sounding more raspy this time. "Man, disguisin' my voice is a pain."

"Your fault for smoking a pack a day, froggy."

"You're busting my chops for that right now? Look, it ain't easy bein' us." A pause. "Look at 'em down there."

"Soon we'll have their Pokemon… and payback." the sailor grinned, crossing her arms.

"You handed him back that Gyarados. You must be gettin' soft!"

"If you think that, then you won't mind cleaning our dorm room at HQ for the next month."

"…Never mind." he pulled out a cigarette.

"You gotta do that HERE?"

"I'm the captain. You want me to step down on the deck and smoke? You think someone won't question that with as much as I've been in here this entire cruise?!" his eyebrows furrowed.

"You came out to greet those twerps."

"Don't remind me. I wanted to strangle that redhead right then and there."

"Well good thing you didn't. We wait until evening, you understand?"

"I don't, but I know better than to argue with ya at this point… and I figure ya know better than me."

"Good boy!" the woman turned and left, leaving the captain, who frowned.

"'Good boy'? Does she think I'm a Growlithe or somethin'?!"

Evening fell quickly as Ash, Misty, Tracey, and their Pokémon headed up to the dining hall for a meal at the captain's insistence. They walked over to the buffet table and each stacked their plates to the top with various foods. The trio found a spot to sit down and immediately began assaulting their plates, filling themselves with various types of fish, crabmeat, and clams.

"Hey, thish ish guhd!" Ash said, mouth full of salmon.

"Mmm-hmm!" Misty sighed contentedly in agreement.

"…" Tracey looked around silently as he chewed.

"Pikaaa-!" Pikachu cried happily, as it grabbed a nearby bottle of ketchup and lapped at the dispensary in pure delight. Tracey wasted no time in pulling out his spare drawing notebook.

"This will make a great sketch to show Professor Oak!" he grinned widely. "Now just pretend I'm not here, Pikachu…"

"Pi-ka?" Pikachu tilted its head quizzically.

"Are you sure it's okay for us to eat this food?" Ash questioned between bites as the captain walked by them.

"Absolutely! I'm not so cold-hearted that I can't extend a couple of measly plates of food to some unexpected passengers!"

"Wow, thanks captain!" Ash laughed, delving into another eating frenzy.

"Ash… does something seem strangely familiar about that captain to you?" Misty asked as the captain walked out of earshot.

"Huh? Like what?"

"His voice… I can't place my finger on it, but something sounds familiar about his voice…" Misty once again cupped her chin in her hand while Pikachu temporarily babysat Togepi.

"Now that you mention it…" Tracey said. "Yeah, it kinda does. He also didn't notify the Coast Guard when he picked us up. That's a career-ending offense." he seemed to be transfixed on something for a moment before rising up. "Excuse me, I need to find a bathroom." And with that, Tracey bolted as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Maybe he's just really nice…" Ash said, taking note of Misty's immediate expression of annoyance. "Or maybe you're onto something." he stood up, and Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder immediately afterward.

"Ash, where are you going now?!"

"My best friend's concerned about something. I'm gonna go alleviate it." he strode toward the captain's table.

"More like compound it if I'm right… but thanks." Misty muttered, half-heartedly smiling once more. The smile vanished as the sailor woman from before approached the table.

"Just thought you'd like to know…" Misty's eyes widened somewhat as the woman whispered something in her ear.

"Hey captain…" Ash said as he reached the captain's table. "Why didn't you notify the Coast Guard when we got on the ship?"

"Oh, that's easy…" the captain sounded raspier than before. Ash realized Misty was right. This man's voice was very familiar… as if he'd heard it not even two weeks prior. His recognition was confirmed as the man reached up and pulled off the mask he had been wearing to disguise himself. Underneath said mask were the aqua green hair and brown eyes of Butch, a member of the other Team Rocket that Ash and friends had encountered twice before. "Cause this cruise was just to trap you, twerp! Now prepare for trouble!"

"CRAP." Ash scowled.

"And make it double!" Ash turned to acknowledge the female sailor who had just spoken that line, now unmasked and revealing the blonde pigtails, violet eyes, and pink triangular earrings she always sported. She had her right arm clenched tightly around Misty's neck. Her left hand was holding a knife up to what part of said neck wasn't covered by arm. Without waiting for Ash to say anything, she proceeded to launch into her next part of the motto. "To infect the world with devastation!"  
"To blight all peoples in every nation!" Butch didn't miss a beat, rising up and discarding the rest of his outfit, revealing a black Team Rocket uniform with the standard red R on his chest.

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!"

"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"

The blonde let go of Misty long enough to toss away the rest of her disguise.

"Cassidy!"

"Butch!"

Cassidy's hand shot out, grabbing Misty's before she could escape, again, missing no beats. "We're Team Rocket, circling Earth all day and night!"

"Surrender to us now or you'll surely lose the fight!" The two posed dramatically as they finished.

"Let go!" Misty yelped.

"Cassidy… and Bart!" Ash gasped.

"…Really? I JUST said my name is BUTCH." Butch's eyes narrowed comically as he turned to Cassidy. "How come they never get your name wrong?" Cassidy just shrugged.

Ash scowled as he focused on the knife in Cassidy's hand.

"Let Misty go." he ordered.

"Ha! Hey Butch, the pipsqueak thinks he can order me!" Cassidy laughed.

"That IS funny!" Butch joined his partner in laughter. "Oh, but wait! I got a response! Go, Primeape!" he threw a Pokéball, and out popped the 3'3" Pig Monkey Pokémon, ready for a fight.

"Fighting type, huh? I have my own rebuttal to that…" Ash removed a Pokeball from his belt and gave it a toss. "Charizard, I choose you!" Out came the 5'7" winged fire-breathing reptile with a loud roar. "Alright Charizard, turn up the heat for Hutch's Primeape with Flamethrower!"

"IT'S BUTCH, YOU MORON!" Butch shouted, as his Primeape got torched. The short fighting Pokémon stumbled back before redoubling its charge toward Charizard. "Primeape, Fury Swipes!" Butch ordered, and Primeape began its relentless assault upon Charizard.

"Hang in there Charizard, and counter with Seismic Toss!" Ash scowled.

"Primeape, match that Charizard's Seismic Toss with one of your own!" Butch pointed angrily at Ash's Charizard, and the two Pokémon locked hands as they tried to one-up each other with their attacks.

"Prime-APE!" cried Primeape as it lost the struggle with Charizard, getting tossed into the ceiling and dropping down again hard. It started to stand up again, but found it no longer had the strength to do so as its eyes went swirly and it lost consciousness.

"Yeah!" Ash cheered. "Good job, Charizard!" Charizard roared and flashed a thumbs up to its trainer.

"Grr… return, Primeape!" Butch held out Primeape's Pokéball and recalled the Pokémon. He reached immediately for another Pokéball. As he did so, Cassidy reached for a Pokéball as well, accidentally dropping her knife. Misty seized the opportunity to bite her hard on her forearm.

"Ye-OW!" she yelped, as Misty slipped out of her grasp successfully this time. "That tears it!" she snarled, pulling out two Pokéballs and tossing them. "Raticate, Hypno, GO!"

"RatiCATE!" Raticate emerged from its Pokéball, looking as enraged as ever. Hypno grunted as it emerged.

"Hypno, knock out that Charizard!"

"Hypnooo…" Hypno trailed off, immediately waving its pocket watch back and forth. Charizard's eyelids began to droop. Butch threw his next Pokéball in this time.

"Sandslash, go!"

"Sandslash!" it cried in a high-pitched voice.

"Charizard, fight off that Hypnosis!" Misty took a position by Ash's side at that point, readying a Pokéball of her own.

"Help him out, Poliwag!" she called, as she released her Poliwag.

"Poliii!" it cheered as it came into view.

"Poliwag, Bubble Clutch's Sandslash!"

"THAT ONE WAS ON PURPOSE!" Butch yelled, grasping the sides of his head as his eyes narrowed comically, before he regained composure. "Sandslash, dodge it by digging!"

"Slash!" it acknowledged, attempting to burrow through the floor of the ship's dining room and chipping its claws in the process. "Slahahaaaash!" it cried in pain, and again as the bubbles connected, sending it to unconsciousness.

"That's two-nothing, in case you weren't keeping score!" Ash grinned.

"Yup… let's fix that, then!" Cassidy pointed to Ash's Charizard. "Send that thing to Dreamland, Hypno! Hypnosis, double strength! Raticate, Super Fang her Poliwag!"

"Raaaticate!" Raticate bared its large incisors to take a bite, sending Poliwag tumbling backward.

"Hypno…" Hypno's watch increased in speed, and soon, Charizard was asleep.

"Charizard!" Ash called out, pulling out his Pokéball once more and recalling it. "Return!" he turned to the table they'd previously been situated at before he stood up. "Pika… chu?" he noticed both Pikachu and Togepi were gone. "Uhh…" his eyes went comically wide. "Pikachu?!"

"Togepi?!" Misty looked worried as her gaze followed Ash's… and discovered that both Pokémon were in a cage produced by another passenger, who threw off his disguise, revealing a third agent of Team Rocket.

"Lookin' for these, doll?" he asked.

"Another agent…?!" Ash gasped.

"Oh yeah… you three are the only normal people on this ship." Cassidy smirked. "This whole liner was a plot to trap all of you!"

"Why us specifically?!" Misty demanded.

"Because you've ruined our two best laid plans, twerpette!" Butch explained. "First you showed that Officer Jenny those photos of what we were doin' in the Breeding Center, then that Pokémon over there ruined our plans on Mandarin Island!"

"Ruined your plans…" Misty trailed off, eyes widening. "…Togepi?!"

"Yeah. That. It'll make a nice present for the Boss!" Butch flashed a thumb in the baby Pokémon's direction as more and more of the "passengers" discarded their disguises, revealing black uniform clad Team Rocket Grunts.

"Darn…" Ash scowled, holding up a couple of his Pokéballs, prepared to go down fighting. He glanced back toward Misty. "Misty… make a run for the door. I'll hold Haunch and Blondie off."

"Well… at least he got your name wrong too." Butch frowned, turning to Cassidy.

"Shut it, Biff." Cassidy snapped at her partner.

"Seriously, get going… I'll hold em off."

"I'm not leaving you, Ash." Misty gritted her teeth.

"They only want you." Ash argued. "They're not gonna kill me."

"Sure of that, are ya?" Cassidy crossed her arms. "YOU'VE been a pretty big thorn in our side as well. "You're betting your life on our merciful nature?"

Nope!" Ash smirked. "I'm betting my life on my skill as a trainer! No idiot from Team Rocket is going to take me down!"

"Only idiot here is you, twerp." Cassidy frowned.

"You're surrounded, and the only way out's into Gyarados-infested waters!" Butch laughed. "And if you think that Lapras you've been riding will save you from them, well…" he trailed off with a grin.

"Not from them, no." he smirked, pulling out another Pokéball and giving it a toss. "Go, Lapras!" as the large blue and cream sea creature emerged on the floor of the ship. Ash turned back to Misty. "Go. Now."

"Not without Togepi, and not without you!" Misty protested.

"Yeah, about that whole noble sacrifice thing…" Butch trailed off, producing a small remote, which he then pressed. "Much as you likely wouldn't get away from the Gyarados alive… I ain't taking any chances." he grinned as each and every exit from the dining hall was sealed by thick iron bars. "It's just the two of you… and the lot of us!"

"Well since I can't leave anyway…" Misty smirked, holding out two of her Pokéballs. "Staryu, Psyduck, go!" As the two Pokémon appeared, Ash threw his own second Pokéball.

"Snorlax, I choose you!" The large beast materialized with a loud "Laaaaax…" as Ash and Misty stared down Butch, Cassidy, and the Rocket Grunts, who were releasing a number of Pokémon.

"Come on… where's a radio…?!" Tracey mumbled, as he looked around the captain's cabin frantically. He ran over to a small console by the wheel, flinging it open and breathing a sigh of relief as the very radio he was looking for was neatly tucked away on a shelf within the console. "Woo! Here we go!" he fiddled with the controls for a minute, picking up the transmitter as soon as he settled on channel 9, frequency 156.450. "Hello, is anyone there? This is the HMS Rocquet…" he trailed off shaking his head for a second. 'Rocket, Rocquet, DUH.', he shook his head, speaking up once more after a few seconds of silence. "Please, pick up! It's an emergency!"

"This is the Coast Guard. What is your emergency?" came a woman's voice on the other end of the transmission.

"The, uh…" he trailed off, clearing his throat. "The Gyarados are REALLY biting today!"

"Understood. Help is on the way. Hold them off as long as you can." A male voice answered this time. "We'll be there in about 15 minutes."

"You heard the man, Tracey…" the young trainer muttered to himself, pulling out two Pokéballs. "Marill, Scyther, let's go!" The two Pokémon appeared beside their master. Just then, a Rocket Grunt poked his head in the doorway.

"Hey, what's goin' on in here?! 'Dere ain't supposed ta be anyone in da cab—" he was cut off as Marill's Water Gun sent him flying over the railing into the water. Tracey ran out the door, plucking an inner tube from the wall and tossing it to the grunt.

"Sorry about that! Hold on and someone'll pick you up in about 14 minutes!" He waved nervously.

"Hey, who's that?!" He turned, eyes comically wide, to spot three more Rocket Grunts, who wasted no time calling out their Pokémon: an Abra, Drowzee, and Zubat, respectively.

"We can't stop here! Scyther, take 'em down!" he pointed at the three Pokémon.

"Scytherrrr!" the large green Bug Pokémon cried, charging forward and striking each Pokémon with surgical precision, with each Pokémon being knocked out immediately.

"Huh, well we got more where 'dose came from!" one of the grunts spoke up.

"Yeah, but…" Tracey trailed off with a smirk. "Do you REALLY?" Just then, all three grunts' pants dropped to their ankles quickly enough to dislodge the Pokeballs from their belts, sending them scattering. They dropped to a lower level of the ship, alerting more grunts. Tracey groaned as he shoved past the three grunts who had just been embarrassed by his Scyther, his Marill hopping along quickly behind him with cries of "Mar-ill! Mar-ill!" for each hop.

Ash and Misty were now back-to-back, staring down the army of grunts led by Butch and Cassidy.

"Ready to give up, twerps?" Butch smirked, as the two young trainers were now surrounded by a circle of Zubats.

"Ergh…" Ash growled. His Snorlax was busy grappling with Butch's most recently called Pokémon: a Hitmonchan. Its grasping of Hitmonchan's boxing glove-clad hands was the only thing keeping it from getting Ice Punched. "Darn…"

"Zubat, Supersonic!" Each Zubat's trainer called in perfect unison.

"Aah…" Ash groaned as the Zubat herd let loose with ear-piercing shrieks, causing both trainers to cover their ears. He kept one eye open long enough to see his Snorlax lose the grapple, as Hitmonchan got off the Ice Punch Butch had ordered a couple of minutes prior. "Hang in there, Snorlax! Counter with Mega Punch!"

"Useless." Butch smirked. "Hitmonchan, fight back with Mach Punch!" The two Pokémon charged at each other, but Hitmonchan proved to be faster, slamming its right fist into the large Pokémon's gut.

"Snorlax!" Ash cried out as he watched the Pokémon fall over with a loud thud. He gritted his teeth and held out Snorlax's Pokéball, calling his fainted Pokémon back. He dared to reach down to his belt for his last available Pokémon, and collapsed to his knees yelling in pain.

"ASH!" Misty turned to her friend, reaching out a hand to snap him out of it, also collapsing to her knees.

"Well well… looks like the twerps are unable to battle." Cassidy smirked, walking forward. "Game over. Now we'll…" she trailed off, as she noticed a shocked expression on Butch's face. "Butch? What's up?"

"Uhh…" He pointed a thumb behind his partner. Cassidy turned and her eyes went wide as she saw the vast majority of the Rocket Grunts suspended in midair, surrounded by a faint blue glow.

"What the…?!" she gasped. She then heard it: over where Pikachu and Togepi were caged, the baby Egg Pokémon moving its arms from one side to the other while chanting "To-ki! To-ki!" With a snarl, Cassidy turned back to the Zubats, also surrounded in the blue aura.

"Oh for the love of little green apples…"

"It's using Metronome…" Butch commented.

"I KNOW what it's using, Butch! We need to take it out now!"

"…Togepi?" Misty stared in awe at the Pokémon she had cared for since it imprinted on her during her time with Ash in Kanto. She looked up and noticed Cassidy's Hypno looming over the cage. "Oh no you don't!" she shouted. "Staryu, Hydro Pump!"

"Squirtle, go!" Ash got back to his feet, calling out his last unfainted Pokémon. The tiny turtle appeared in a flash of red light. "Take out that Hitmonchan with your Skull Bash!"

"Squirtle Squirtle!" he acknowledged his trainer's command and charged forward, ramming into Butch's Hitmonchan at breakneck speed and sending it flying into the nearest wall, where it was joined afterward by Hypno. Both Pokémon fell into unconsciousness.

"Darn!" Cassidy scowled. "Raticate!" she looked around and spotted her Pokémon standing over Misty's unconscious Poliwag. "Hyper Fang on her Togepi!" she pulled another Pokéball from her belt as she finished speaking. "Go, Jynx!" In a flash of red light, the odd, vaguely humanoid Pokémon materialized. "Take that Staryu down with Ice Punch!"

"Jynnnnnx JYNX!" the Pokémon obeyed, angrily charging at Misty's Staryu.

"Staryu, hit it with Swift!" Misty ordered. Staryu grunted and fired numerous stars at Jynx.

"Jynx, dodge that Swift!" Cassidy barked at her Pokémon, who leapt into the air, only to get pelted by the many stars simultaneously. "Ugh, Jynx!" she turned back to Misty with a scowl, while the young redhead just smirked at her. Jynx landed, but had yet to fall into unconsciousness. "Alright Jynx, counter with Ice Beam!" Before Jynx could follow her trainer's order, however, Squirtle nailed it with a Skull Bash, sending it against the wall and fainting it. Cassidy growled and turned to her partner, furious.

"Butch, help me OUT HERE!"

"Er… I'm… out of Pokémon." Butch commented meekly.

"Darn it!" Cassidy reached for another Pokéball, only to sheepishly realize she, too, was out of Pokémon. "Oh… well…" she turned once more, reaching for the nearest Grunt's Pokéball. "Been a while since I've done this blind… Pokéball, go!" As the flash of red dissipated, a Koffing materialized. "…PERFECT." she grinned evilly. "Hey you!" she turned back to the Grunt and grabbed him by the ear, whispering something to him.

"Uh, Koffing!" the grunt spoke up. "Smokescreen!" The Koffing floated around, blanketing the entire dining hall in a thick cloud of smoke.

"Now! Butch, get the redhead! We can get the other twerp afterward!" Cassidy ordered.

"Right!" Butch lunged past Ash in one swift motion.

"MISTY!" Ash spun around as Butch reached his intended target with an evil grin. He gripped her right hand hard.

"Hey, let me GO!" Misty shouted, wildly thrashing her arm.

"Not in this lifetime, Red!" He used his free hand to grasp her left shoulder for a better grasp… and caused the position of Misty's tank top to shift to the left, exposing some of her shoulder blade as well as a large, flat brown discoloration previously hidden by the yellow fabric. Butch stared on, wide-eyed, as the smoke began to dissipate. He let go of her quickly… and was promptly tackled by a furious Ash, who decided to forego the remaining Pokémon he had in favor of his own two hands.

"Get away from her!" he snarled, raising his left fist as soon as he'd thrown a punch with his right and following through beautifully, leaving red welts on the older man's face. He smiled for a second at his own handiwork; he'd definitely gotten a lot tougher than he used to be. However, his pride was cut down as Cassidy put him in a headlock.

"You get off him!" Ash heard her say, as he fought to get out of his predicament. Just then, the entire contingent of Rocket Grunts dropped, as Togepi finally stopped its chanting, exhausted. As they got to their feet, the Grunts circled around the four of them. Before they could advance inward though, the barred doors erupted forward, flooring a couple of Grunts in their path. In charged a caped man with spiky, scarlet red hair and an overall commanding presence. With a swing of his hand, the brown cloak opened, exposing his clothing beneath: a blue suit, peppered with orange color around his sleeves and chest area. The red lining the inside of his cloak was a tad off-putting by comparison to the other colors of his wardrobe, though it seemed to match his hair quite nicely. In his outstretched hand, he held a silver badge.

"Alright, everyone FREEZE!" he shouted, the tone of his voice as intimidating as his physical presence. "Team Rocket, you are ALL under arrest!"

"You gotta be kidding!" Cassidy laughed. "You and what army?!"

"For starters, him." the man smirked as his Pokémon flew in. Both Cassidy and the grunts stared in wide-eyed shock at the 7'3" orange, scowling bipedal dragon that landed with a thud beside its trainer, the turquoise inner lining of its wings becoming less apparent as it folded the wings and stared down the hall full of Rockets.

"What the heck is THAT thing?" Ash reached into his jacket and removed his Pokedex. Pointing the small red device at the creature, he listened as it revealed what information it had on the creature.

"Dragonite, the Dragon Pokémon. The final form in the Dratini evolutionary line. Dragonite can circle the entire planet in only sixteen hours."

"Oh, and also them." the man's smirk widened into a toothy grin as a large group of gray uniform-clad men and women marched in, lining up. "Now, by order of Lance Wataru of the Pokémon G-Men, get your hands in the air!"

"Lance Wataru…" Misty trailed off, letting out a surprised cry as her eyes widened so much, Ash feared they would roll right out of their sockets. "LANCE WATARU?!"

"Who's this Lance guy?" Ash muttered to his friend.

"Don't you know anything?!" she whispered harshly. "He's the LEADER of the Kanto Elite Four!"

"The leader?!" Ash's eyes also widened. "HIM?!"

"I won't repeat myself again!" Lance ordered, his grin turning into a frown.

"Aah…" Cassidy sighed. "Darn it…" she raised her hands in surrender. Butch, still looking shocked, rose up and followed suit. Soon, every Rocket Grunt was being escorted out as Lance walked over to the two younger trainers. As Misty watched Butch being led out in cuffs, she saw a strange look on his face. He was no longer shocked. As he glanced back at her before vanishing out the door, his expression was a mix of what Misty perceived as sadness and shame.

"Why… did he stop?" Misty spoke up, causing Ash and Lance, who were shaking hands, to turn their heads.

"What do you mean, Mist?" Ash piped up.

"Butch had me. I mean, you probably would have interrupted him, but he could have hurt me before you got there." Misty looked away for a moment.

"It certainly does raise some questions. I'll look into it." Lance smiled. "In the meantime, I believe these are yours?" two G-Men walked up, Pikachu and Togepi cradled in their arms. With a cry of "Pikapi!", the yellow mouse jumped into Ash's outstretched hands.

"Pikachu!" he exclaimed, hugging the Pokémon to him.

"Togepi!" Misty hugged her Pokémon as it returned to its position in its trainer's arms.

"Ppppriiii!" it cried happily.

"You were awesome, Togepi!" Ash congratulated it. Togepi trilled in happiness, just glad to be reunited with its mother once more. At that point, Tracey walked up to them.

"Ash, Misty! Are you okay?"

"I'm okay…" Ash nodded. "Misty…" he turned to her.

"…" she gazed over at the door once again.

"Misty!" Ash repeated.

"Huh?" A pause. "…Yeah, I'm okay." she gave Ash a reassuring smile. "Thanks. And… thanks for believing me earlier… even if my being right turned out to be a bad thing."

"It's like I said… you're my best friend." Ash placed a hand on her shoulder. "And I should be thanking you for earlier."

"Don't worry about it." she gave a simple shrug of her shoulders as she turned around and walked out the door.

"Hey, wait up!" Tracey called as he followed her out.

"Excuse me." Lance spoke up again as Ash started to leave. "You said your name was Ash, right?"

"Yes sir, why?" Ash nodded.

"I remember hearing about a trainer named Ash who placed in the Indigo League's top 16 trainers. Are you that Ash?"

"Uh… yeah, that's me." Ash sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"I'll be following your progress with great interest, Ash." Lance smiled, shaking the young man's hand once more. "Say… where are you heading?"

"Uh… back home to Pallet Town, Lance sir." Ash bowed his head in respect.

"Just Lance will do." Lance placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I can't take you all the way back there, but will Viridian City be far enough for me to give you and your friends a lift?"

"Absolutely, Lance sir!" Ash beamed. "I mean, Lance!"

"Great, I'll fly the three of you there on my Dragonite!"

Ash looked down once more at the HMS Rocquet as he, Misty, Tracey, and Lance lifted off into the sky. The ship had been lashed to another large ship, and was being dragged off into the horizon, which seemed farther and farther away as he and his friends approached Kanto quickly…


	2. A Misty-fying Abduction

PokeWing Z, Episode 2: A Misty-fying Abduction

A crossover fanfiction by Dustin M. Dixon/ThatGuyWithStuff/Kuwabara Shizuru

* * *

At the courthouse over in Viridian City, a long black stretch limo sat parked next to the sidewalk at the bottom of the tall staircase. Midway up stood the newly-released Butch, gazing up at the sky. He sighed, taking a drag from a cigarette and exhaling sharply.

"Well." he spoke up in a voice barely above a whisper. "Never thought I'd see her again…"

"Hey! Get a move on, Butch! The Boss wants us to report back immediately!" Cassidy called out as she ran down the stairs, happy to be out of jail so fast. Behind her, walking at a more steady pace and clad in a tuxedo, was a man with a lighter shade of green hair than Butch sported. The man walked down the steps, hands in his pockets.

"Boss is going to love hearing how fifty of you blew taking down a trio of kids." the man shrugged his shoulders.

"None of your business, Archer!" Cassidy started defiantly.

"Yeah, you're right. How DARE I come down to the courthouse, bail you screw-ups out, and ask WHY you screwed up. Next time I'll just leave you here to rot. We can avoid the 'Archer asking questions' bit altogether." the man flicked his head back, smirking confidently as Cassidy grumbled and looked away.

"Little help here…? she whispered as she reached the same step Butch was on. "…Butch?" her voice raised as she looked over at her partner. "What's up?"

"…Nothing." Butch lied. "We'll talk about it later." He let his eyes meet hers, noting the look of uncertainty on her face. He prayed she wouldn't press the matter any further for the moment… and his prayer was rewarded, as she shrugged gently and settled into the limo across from Archer. Butch took one more look at the overcast sky before joining his partner.

* * *

(Title) A Misty-fying Abduction

(Silhouette) Misty

* * *

*TWELVE HOURS AGO*

As Lance's Dragonite touched down in front of the Viridian City Pokémon Center, Ash, Misty, and Tracey hopped off, waving to the dragon master as they proceeded into the center proper. Though it had suffered from a massive explosion the first time Ash visited on the day he started his Pokémon journey… the day he both met Pikachu and Misty, and the day he first encountered Team Rocket… it had been fixed up more or less completely. As they neared the desk, the resident Nurse Joy turned from another trainer and waved excitedly.

"Oh! Hi! It's been a long time!"

"Wait… you REMEMBER us?" Ash looked perplexed.

"It's kind of hard to forget someone whose fight with Team Rocket blew the entire front wall off of our center!" Nurse Joy said, the cheerfulness not diminishing – not even for a second. "But more importantly, you're responsible for our most popular attraction!"

"Most popular attraction…?" Ash pondered, as he felt a sharp tug on his arm. He turned to see Misty, her eyes narrowed in comical anger as she used her right index finger to point to what Nurse Joy had hinted at: over on a newly-erected pedestal, turned upside down and held there with various rods and wires, were the charred remains of her bicycle. "OH…" he trailed off nervously, tapping his index fingers together. "It, uh… looks good?"

"Wrong answer." Misty deadpanned at him, smacking him on the back.

"What IS that thing?!" Tracey stared at it with comically-wide eyes.

"THAT… is my old bike, which THIS guy destroyed... and I've been following him ever since." Misty explained.

"Wait… THAT'S why she's been following you?" Tracey turned to Ash.

"Uh, well… there's a bit more to it than that." Ash said, sweating nervously as he felt his longtime companion staring him down. "There was a flock of Spearows, and a thunderstorm, and… and Pikachu…" he recalled the moment in his head like it was just yesterday, though it had been about two and a half years since he began his Pokémon journey. Had it not been for his own noble gesture, Pikachu may not have intervened, and both of them would likely have been torn apart by the flock of Spearows that had been summoned by the lone Spearow he has beaned with a rock in an attempt to capture it. That day, he earned his first Pokémon's undying trust. "And her bike was there, and I was trying to stay alive…" he stammered.

"That WAS a lot of Spearows." Misty put her right index finger to her lip in thought. "But you did still wreck it. And you could have asked."

"Yeah… yeah, I could have." Ash admitted, looking away. He turned back to Nurse Joy, clearing his throat. "Uh, anyway… could you heal our Pokémon? We got sidetracked by another group of Team Rocket agents a couple of hours ago and they took out a good deal of our respective teams." He alternated between pointing at himself and at Misty. She nodded. The nurse flashed them both a smile as they handed over their Pokémon individually. Ash, feeling like showing a more gentlemanly side, allowed Misty to hand over her Pokémon first, setting Togepi in a separate tray brought over by Nurse Joy's Chansey assistant. He followed suit as she returned, handing over his five Pokeballs as Pikachu happily hopped up next to his Pokémon friends. As they were carted off, Pikachu waved cutely.

"As for the three of you… it's awfully late! Do you have somewhere to stay?" Nurse Joy

gestured to the three trainers as she collected Tracey's Pokémon.

"Well… my hometown's not far from here, but…" Ash trailed off.

"Yeah, I'd rather not walk in total darkness back to Pallet Town." Misty looked down. "…As much as I'd want to spend the night there having girl talk with someone who's not about to call me 'runt'.

"It's not girl talk…" Ash raised a finger. "But my ear's open."

Misty turned to her friend, smiling wearily at him.

"…Sure." she nodded, grabbing his right arm and leading him off to a nearby sofa, as Tracey proceeded to flirt awkwardly with the nurse.

"So… penny for your thoughts, Mist?" he turned to her.

"The last twelve hours have been… well…weird." Misty looked down. "Between being assaulted by that other Team Rocket plus fifty grunts and, well…" she glanced up at the space atop Ash's head previously occupied by his Pokémon League Expo Hat.

"Hey… about that hat. I'm sorry if it felt like I was blaming you. I'm not. I'd rather have you around than the hat. If anyone should be apologizing… it's me over your bike-slash-Viridian City's newest attraction." Ash looked over at the charred remains again. "If there's one thing I could've changed about that day… well, I'd change a LOT about that day."

"Like throwing a rock at a Spearow?" Misty questioned slyly.

"Nah… I got several really good friends out of that." Ash took note of the genuine smile on Misty's face. "I'd have tried to catch one after all that, though… and MAYBE avoided taking your bike without permission."

"…That's sweet, but in a way… I'm kind of glad that happened… like you, I met some really good friends. You're one of them." she shifted a bit closer to him.

"Aah… hey, I've been wondering…" Ash shifted his position, crossing his left leg at a ninety degree angle atop his right.

"Yes…?" Misty was all ears.

"What are the odds Lance of the Elite Four would show up there at that cruise ship when we needed him?"

"…Oh." Misty deadpanned, shifting back away from Ash a few inches. "Uh…" she trailed off in thought. "That IS kind of weird, now that you mention it." she sighed.

"Hey guys!" Tracey popped up between them. "What's up?"

"Oh, hey Tracey." Ash greeted, missing the memo on the mood change. "How'd Lance know we were there on the cruise ship? Any thoughts?"

"Uh, heh…" Tracey trailed off. "I guess he was nearby when the Coast Guard picked up?"

"I guess that would make sense, wouldn't it M—" Ash turned to face Misty, only to realize she'd gotten up since Tracey's sudden appearance and walked away. "…Misty?"

"Huh. Did… I interrupt something?" Tracey pondered.

"We were just talking and…" Ash trailed off, looking around.

"Well, it IS close to midnight… maybe she went on to bed." the older boy shrugged.

"Yeah, maybe…" Ash put a finger to his lip in thought. "Maybe we should do the same."

* * *

In a separate room of the Pokémon Center set aside for female trainers, Misty tossed her backpack down next to the empty bottom bunk in a huff.

"Aah… BOYS." she pouted.

"Right?" came a voice from the top bunk, startling her. She glanced up at the owner of the voice, who shifted into an upright position, her long legs barely covered by the short nightgown she was currently wearing. Her brown hair cascaded past her shoulders, stopping at a level just under her shoulder blades. Her green eyes were narrowed as she smirked coyly at the younger girl. "They're impossible to figure out."

"Well, good to know I'm not the only one having trouble." Misty laughed, offering a hand. "I'm Misty."

"Janine." the older girl returned the gesture and shook hands. "You from around here, Misty?"

"Er, sort of? I'm from Cerulean City." Misty admitted. "You?"

"No, I'm from… far away." Nina shrugged.

"You mean from somewhere like Johto or Hoenn?!" Misty's eyes sparkled excitedly. "Wow!"

"Yeah…" she chuckled.

"So what do you think of Kanto?" Misty asked. "Are you taking the Pokémon League challenge? What kind of Pokémon do you use? Wh…" she paused, blushing as she realized she was bombarding her new acquaintance with question after question.

"Um… in this order: Kanto's beautiful, I'm here to work, and I favor Psychic types." Janine closed her eyes. "And yourself?"  
"Er, I mainly use Water Pokémon. I'm aiming to be the greatest Water Pokémon trainer in the world!"

"Lofty goal!" Janine laughed. "Hope you reach it someday…"

"Thanks! Whatever your goals are, I hope you reach yours too!" Misty flashed a wink and a thumbs up, before letting out a yawn. "Sorry to cut this short, but I'm beat." she lifted up her blanket and sat on the bed. "It was good talking to you."

"Likewise. And hey, whatever guy trouble you're having… you'll get it sorted out, I'm sure." Janine extended her arm past the obscurity of the top bunk in a thumbs up.

"Thanks." Misty smiled, drifting off to sleep soon after draping the blanket over herself, her thoughts on a certain clueless boy who, for all she knew, was still out there with their mutual oblivious friend.

* * *

*2:00 AM*

Several hours passed, and all overhead lights had been shut off, with only smaller, weaker lights illuminating the hallways and main corridor for trainers who needed to use the bathroom or anyone in need of getting their Pokémon taken care of at late hours. Within the main lobby, Ash sat once again, looking over at the mangled remains of his best friend's bicycle. Though he tried to downplay it over the course of the two years he'd known Misty, he found himself thinking about it a lot. There was something about her, something different than anyone else he'd come across in his two years on the road. Sometimes she was great fun to be around. Other times, she would seem distant. She was more than willing to be his ear to cry on when he'd sacrificed his hat to save her life from the Gyarados he imagined was now resting comfortably around Professor Samuel Oak's Pokémon laboratory. His Gyarados… he momentarily distracted himself from his previous line of thought by wondering what his new Pokémon would be like temperamentally. Would it be like Charizard was: perceiving him as too weak to be an effective trainer? Or would it be as loyal as his other Pokémon, who have stuck with him through thick and thin?

'Please be the second one.' he thought to himself, worried about what a rampaging Gyarados would do to Professor Oak's laboratory, let alone Professor Oak himself. What would it do to them if he changed one of his current team out for it? To him, to Tracey, or to Mis… to Misty?

'Aah…' Ash quickly ruffled his hair with both hands. Why was Misty such an issue to him right now? He looked back toward the bike once more, as though it held some great spiritual answer or answers for him. After a few seconds of staring, he looked down into his right gold-trimmed pocket at the case he had carried throughout the Indigo League. The badges it formerly housed had been thrown away, as they were now useless with the new League season approaching. Instead, it now served as a home for the OTHER prize Ash had secured in his Orange League victory along with his new trophy: roughly eight hundred thousand Pokecredits. He was still two hundred thousand short for a new bicycle…

'That bike… I wonder if she'll stick around after I get that bike?' Ash thought. Ordinarily, he wouldn't have cared and let her go her merry way, but he had sincerely meant that she was his best friend… the one person in his life as close to him as he was to Pikachu. Now… he couldn't think of not having her around to poke fun at or laugh with. There was probably some lower-tier tournament going on around Kanto or a region close enough to it to where he could earn the remaining money for Misty's bicycle… but was it worth it? There was a chance she could leave, but then… he did promise her… Ash wished for a distraction so he didn't have to think about it anymore. It was then, like manna from heaven, that he noticed someone out of the corner of his eye. Standing there in the hallway, standing at about five feet and seven inches, dressed in a short black t-shirt, trimmed in white, pulled over a red shirt of indeterminate shape –Ash guessed it was either a t-shirt like the one covering it, or even sleeveless- , and with black long pants stopping just short of her exposed ankles, was a young brunette woman, appearing to be in her late teens. Ash noticed her face, in contrast to the pale skin on her exposed arms, was beet red as she looked over at him.

"Uh, hey… sorry. Were you needing some privacy, miss…?" Ash asked.

"…Janine… Uh… uh huh…" she muttered. "P… phone…"

"Oh, right… uh, sorry about that." Ash nodded, walking away, figuring it was time to try and get some more sleep. He failed to take notice, as he left, of Nina's gaze following his retreating form.

"…What a hunk..." She sighed dreamily. She walked over to the phone and looked around, taking great care to make sure absolutely no one was within earshot. As she dialed the seven digits, she opted for no video. A few seconds later, an obviously disguised voice picked up.

"Uh, yeah? Hello?"

"Hey. It's me." she spoke up after regaining her composure.

"Oh. What do you want?"

" Would 'Thanks for getting back to me in a timely manner' KILL you?" she sighed.

"That depends. What's the report on the Pokémon there at the center?"

"Aah… they're all garbage. Mainly Pidgey and Rattata. OCCASIONALLY a Pikachu or Caterpie." she shrugged.

"Great… so why'd Giovanni have us scope this place?" the voice on the other end complained.

"I have no idea… but I'll stick around until the boss gives us new orders. Janine out." she hung up the phone, slyly smirking. She had been, in her own mind, flawless entering the backroom Pokémon storage, not that she would have had much trouble if she were a rookie thief. Viridian City wasn't exactly known for its wealth, so unfortunately for the Pokémon Center, they had to skimp on security, allowing the agent known as Janine to infiltrate it with little more than a bobby pin. As she'd reported to her unnamed contact, though, she'd found nothing of any real value. Sure, the Pokémon she found all had further evolutionary stages, but they were all really commonplace. She didn't see the point in wasting her talents stealing them. There was something much better in this Center that she could use her other talents for…

'God, what a hunk!' she thought again as her mind wandered to the raven-haired boy who had just a few minutes ago went on to the boys' dormitories. 'I wonder if he's single…?' She had hoped he would notice her in that way, but that was a question the morning light would bring, as she walked back to the girls' dorm. With a quick, but quiet discarding of the clothing she had put on to go outside of the dorm, she was once again down to the nightgown she had worn while conversing with Misty earlier. Taking care not to disturb her bottom bunk mate, Janine climbed into her bunk quickly and pulled the covers over her, drifting off to sleep, not daring to guess that the boy she found herself extremely attracted to might also be the one boy that Misty was previously venting about.

'If it is, maybe, just maybe, I can win this new competition…' she thought cheerfully as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

*PRESENT TIME: 10:00 AM*

Giovanni's office with no new Pokémon was the last place Butch and Cassidy wanted to be currently, and yet… here they were, as an angry Giovanni, dressed, as he always was, in his snazzy orange suit with a green vest beneath the button shirt and a red tie to complete the package, paced back and forth, running his left hand through his short brown hair as he spoke up.

"So even with fifty of my men, you two failed on a level only thought possible by those other nitwits?" he spoke slowly, as if he were still processing what he had been told.

"Uh… y… yes sir." Cassidy swallowed hard.

"Wait a second… the child who beat you…"

"It was the same one who was with the girl who foiled our breeding center scam." Cassidy explained. "Ash Ketchum, I think his name was."

"…Ketchum, you say?" Giovanni turned, his expression indiscernible to the two agents he had been scolding. "One second." he held up a finger as he pulled a remote out of his shirt pocket, hitting a button on it and turning to face the screen that had just lit up. "Wendy?" he addressed the woman on the other end of the call: a black-uniformed woman in her mid-twenties with short green hair brushed into two points on each side of her face and parted slightly on the left side of her head.

"Yes Master Giovanni?" she greeted with a polite smile.

"Would you be a dear and patch me through to those three idiots?" he returned her smile.

"Ugh… yes, Master. Though I don't see why you keep them on." Wendy rolled her eyes.

"Join the club." Cassidy commented dryly.

"I don't pay the three of you to THINK… just to DO." Giovanni's tone took a bitterly angry turn.

"Er… yes sir." Wendy nodded, and soon her face vanished from the screen.

* * *

A couple of miles away from the outskirts of Viridian City, a familiar trio of criminals from Team Rocket sat in the bushes, with both of the humans sleeping. Only the bipedal cream-colored catlike creature was awake, gazing through a pair of binoculars, looking for any sign of the trio of Pokemon trainers he and his two human partners swore to chase until they successfully captured Pikachu: Ash, the... redheaded girl... and whoever the third guy was. Meowth didn't bother to remember the trainers who weren't Ash Ketchum. He put down the binoculars long enough to glance down at his teammates. Sprawled on the ground, snoring loudly, her long, snakelike red hair remaining firmly in place and making Meowth wonder exactly how she kept it as such, was Jessie, de facto leader of the team. Next to her, sleeping a little more soundly, his periwinkle hair with the center fringe much less of a stylish marvel to the feline, was James, the calmer of the two. He wondered, occasionally, why he stuck around with them despite all their failures. However, he answered his own thought every time with words from his human partners: they were friends, more than just stuck together by obligation. The three had grown particularly fond of each other. He was snapped out of this line of thought with an annoying ringtone sounding up from their portable phone.

"Ring-ring-ring! Ring-ring-ring! Phone call, phone call!" the ringtone startled the two humans awake as Meowth yelped.

"AAH! SURRENDER NOW!" Jessie shouted shrilly.

"GAH, OR PREPARE TO FIGHT!" James matched his female partner's intensity as he was forcefully awoken.

"...Me-owth, that's right?" Meowth chimed in, confused. "Da phone's ringin'." he pointed out casually after a second of silence between them -at least, as much silence as could exist with that ringtone currently sounding-.

"Then pick it UP." Jessie huffed. Meowth pulled the phone out of the trio's shared knapsack, hitting the talk button. "Hello?" he stood there for a second. "Oh! Hey guys, it's da Boss!" he hit the speaker button as Jessie and James assumed a salutory position.

"Jessie, James, Meowth." Giovanni greeted them curtly from the other end of the line.

"Sir!" they addressed in unison.

"That boy you've been following and blowing thousands of credits on defeating... what did you say his name was?" Giovanni wasted no time.

"Ash. Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, boss." James answered quickly.

"Is that so...? That's why you two failed, then..." Giovanni spoke up again, though Jessie noted he didn't appear to be referring to them.

"Uh, the two of-" Jessie noted, a hint of annoyance in her tone, as if she had already known who Giovanni was talking to.

"Hi Messie!" greeted Cassidy, proving Jessie right.

"Ugh... hi, you snobby little brat." Jessie rolled her eyes.

"Ooh, is that Cassidy and Botch?" James asked naively.

"IT'S BUTCH, YOU-" they heard Cassidy's male counterpart yelling from the other end until he suddenly cut himself off. Either Giovanni was fast enough to reach a point where Butch couldn't be heard, or he'd wordlessly demanded the young man's silence. Probably the latter, the trio noticed, as when Giovanni wanted quiet, Giovanni got quiet.

"So..." Jessie trailed off with a smirk. "The twerps got you too?"

"On the contrary, WE would have beaten him and the twerpette if Lance Wataru hadn't shown up." A pause of a couple of minutes followed. Jessie assumed what Cassidy had said angered Giovanni. She was proven right a second later when Giovanni spoke up again.

"So when I told you to tell me EVERYTHING that happened, you didn't tell me EVERYTHING, did you?" Giovanni sounded like a beast about to pounce.

"To be fair, Boss, you kind of called Wendy up and had her get in touch with Jessie and James BEFORE we finished giving you our report." Butch chimed in.

"Right!" Cassidy joined her partner in defending themselves.

"Ugh..." another pause. Jessie, James, and Meowth shared bewildered looks amongst themselves as Giovanni remained silent. As he spoke again, they stood back at attention.

"Right, well I'm willing to admit a bit of unprofessionalism there." he muttered something the Trio couldn't pick up on before speaking up again. They could hear Butch and Cassidy mutter something back, deducing from this that their boss had covered the actual speaker portion of the phone. Suddenly, he spoke up once more. "Where are you now?"

"Uh, we're about two and a half miles from Viridian City on Route 22." Jessie answered.

"Good. Wait there. Ash Ketchum and his friends are IN Viridian City right now."

"How...? We've been here for nearly a whole day!" James whined. "How'd he make it past us without us noticing?"

"According to a text from one of my executives, they flew on the back of a Dragonite."

"An e... executive?" Jessie swallowed hard.

"Yes... I'm sending her partner your way shortly." Giovanni answered, a tone present in his voice Jessie, James, and Meowth couldn't place. "Give him whatever assistance he asks for. Do NOT leave your position." and with that, Giovanni hung up, leaving the three to wonder why a Rocket Executive needed to get involved.

* * *

Within a darkly lit room of a nearby cabin, a man sat, adjusting the last-assembled piece of his outfit:a black-and-white-striped party mask with horns curving up and down, into place perfectly. He glanced at himself in the mirror, admiring his purple tuxedo with frilly white undershirt, and matching purple pants and top hat.

"You DO have a flair for the theatrical, Wayne." he commented slyly, or as slyly as his disguised voice would allow him to sound. He was snapped out of his narcissistic moment by the sound of his video phone's ringtone.

"Ring-ring-ring! Ring-ring-ring! Phone call, phone call!"

"Ugh." he sighed, walking over and pressing the talk button as his screen flared to life, revealing Giovanni on the other side. "Gio-dude! What's up?!" he chuckled.

"...That's Boss. Regardless of your position." the older man sighed. "Are you ready to deploy for your next assignment, Wayne?"

"Yeah, I'm ready, and I'll bet Janine's ready too. She just called me about eight and a half hours ago." Wayne talked as though he and Giovanni were equals.

"She let me know about your current target." Giovanni shrugged. "There's a boy staying at the Viridian City Pokémon Center right now."

"'Course there is. If it's got a pe-"

"Yes, yes, she chases it. I know." Giovanni interrupted, unwilling to listen to the younger man's saying. "But YOU... this is right up your alley. The boy's name is Ash Ketchum. Janine sent me a picture that I'm sending you now."

"Ketchum, eh...?" Wayne pondered. "And why do you need MY efforts for this?"

"Think about it." Giovanni answered, irritated.

"Wait..." Wayne trailed off as he looked at the picture Giovanni had sent. "You want this kid DEAD?" he finished with a grin. "I mean... you know I'm good for it, but-"

"He's cost this organization untold amounts of money and set our plans back quite a bit..."

"Dead it is!" Wayne's grin widened.

"Good." a pause as Wayne watched Giovanni wave to someone or someoneS off-camera. He watched as Butch and Cassidy exited the room. "So... clearly you want something el-"

"Else, yes." Giovanni finished in a rush. "There are a couple more targets I want you to take out. Three of OURS, actually."

"Ooh, scandalous!" Wayne laughed. "Is it them?" he held up a wanted poster with Jessie, James, and Meowth on it.

"You're smarter than you dress." Giovanni smirked. "And as a personal favor to me-"

"Make it painful?" Wayne hazarded a guess.

"Indeed. You have your orders." Giovanni hung up, and the messy room, peppered with various costumes and looking as though a natural disaster had stricken it, darkened once more.

"Ketchum..." Wayne trailed off once more. "This isn't your lucky day..." he muttered as he walked over to a door adjoined to a garage, glancing over at his mode of transport: a pink moped. "Perfect!" he thrust his right index finger into the air, grabbing a nearby remote and hitting the button to open the large mechanized sliding door. As he did, cheerful and bubbly music blared from the speaker located on the garage ceiling. "Ugh... darn it, Janine. Stop using my dramatic music boom box for your Pokémon grooming sessions..." he muttered, walking over to the CD player and switching out for a CD that said "Team Rocket motto theme". Just then a different, more sinister theme began to blare. "Perfect." he repeated with a grin. "Now, Ketchum... PREPARE FOR TROUBLE." he hopped onto the moped and sped off.

* * *

"Well..." Jessie trailed off, as they stood over what was left of their food. "Who wants to fight me and my Arbok for the pasta primavera?" she raised a fist.

"But there's more than enough for the three of us." James whined. "Friends share!"

"At least let Me-owth have a taste if ya's ain't gonna share a full portion!" Meowth crossed his small arms. Before the three could continue this discussion-slash-argument, they were alerted to an approaching pink moped via its horn, sounding out the opening three notes to their motto. Before they knew it, the gaudily dressed person, standing at roughly six feet, stood before them as his moped continued down the road before toppling over.

"Uh..." Jessie and James spoke in unison before the young man raised a gloved hand to silence them.

"Shh-shh-shh!" he spoke up. A pause followed as they waited for him to speak again. "...I was done. I just wanted to see if you all would be quiet if I held up a hand and shushed you. What's up?" The three looked at him with comically narrow eyes and small drops of sweat forming on the sides of their faces.

'THIS is a Rocket Executive?' James thought. 'He might be younger than US.'

"Uh..." Jessie repeated. "Mister..."

"Just Wayne. Mister doesn't suit a fifteen year old." Wayne frowned.

'He IS younger than us.' James thought, dejected. 'Wait.. an Executive... at FIFTEEN?!'

"...Wayne." Jessie continued. "The Boss asked us to do whatever you wanted."

"Then I'm sure you'll appreciate what's going to happen." Wayne explained. "You catch a rat, and I catch a rat of a different variety!"

"Boss sent you after the twoip, did he?" Meowth asked.

"...It talks." Wayne expressed slight surprise. After a few seconds of shared silence, he spoke up again. "Ahem… yes, I'm going after this Ketchum kid."

"Are you going to dig a hole for him to fall into?" James asked excitedly.

"Um…"

"Give him a wedgie?" Jessie chimed in.

"Well…"

"T'reten to dye da redhead poiple?" A pause. "What? Dat sorta got his attention with da Squoitle Squad."

"Uh… I'm gonna KILL him." Wayne shook his head as all three looked on in genuine open-mouthed shock. "Boss's orders…" he pointed at Jessie. "I LIKE your idea though. Humiliate him before putting him six feet under."

"…Glad I could… help." Jessie stumbled for words, before glancing back and forth between James, Meowth, and Wayne. "Group meeting, you two?" she asked her companions. They huddled a good twenty feet from the young executive. "Hey. I don't know about you two, but I didn't sign up for helping the twerp get murdered."

"I agree, this kid's kind of… what's the word I'm looking for?" James fumbled.

"Dangerously unhinged?" Meowth suggested.

"Yeah! That's the word! Er… words!"

"Do you think this is a problem?" came Wayne's voice from right behind them in a deadpan tone, causing them all to jump in fright.

"Uh, Wayne, sir, no… sir!" Jessie saluted. "Uh… why are you over here? This was meant to be a private…"

"Meeting? Absolutely, but I remembered something he said." Wayne pointed to Meowth. "You said he had a redhead with him?"

"Yeah, some girl from Cerulean City." Meowth shrugged. "Why?"

"…I like your idea as well. You said threatening her got him to pay attention?"

"A little. Again… why?" Meowth was confused. What was this absolute nut job thinking?

"I can use that. One second." he pulled out a cellphone and fidgeted with it for a few seconds, then hit the speaker button.

"Yeah?" Came Janine's voice on the other end.

"Janine, you meet any redheads at that center?" Wayne put his left hand, balled up into a fist, on his hip.

"As a matter of fact… yeah, I did. Why?"

"Picture, please!"

"Jeez, she's MAX thirteen, you creep."

"Well, that's a shame because THAT'S NOT WHY I NEED THE PICTURE, MORON." Wayne scowled.

"Yeah, lemme go get a picture of her real quick. She's still asleep." Janine explained.

"It's like 10:45. Why's a thirteen year old girl sleeping in?" Wayne paused. "Er, save the answer for later. Text that photo as soon as you take it. Wayne out." He ended the call. An awkward pause followed. "So… you guys… ever…" he fumbled around. Suddenly, his cell phone vibrated. "Oh thank GOD." he opened the file and showed the picture of the sleeping Misty to the Trio. "Is this the redhead that follows Ketchum?"

"…Yeah, that's her." James admitted after a moment of hesitation.

"James!" Jessie and Meowth were aghast at his confession.

"Good." Wayne answered, fiddling with his phone again and hitting the speaker button.

"Hello?" Janine answered again.

"Nab her. We're going to bait Ketchum." he laughed.

"Do we really have to do this? He's REALLY attract—"

"I don't want to hear about your… attractions to this kid. Just bring the girl. Use force if necessary." he then hung up, turning to Jessie, James, and Meowth. "And now… we wait."

* * *

Janine hung up her cell phone, turning toward Misty, who was finally waking up. She nodded in greeting as Misty opened her eyes, getting a look at Janine's casual wear for the first time.

"Mornin'!" Janine greeted cheerfully.

"Good mor…" Misty yawned. "…ning. What time is it?"

"It's about ten till eleven." Janine shrugged. "You must've been exhausted."

"Yeah… long day yesterday." Misty stood up out of bed. "I could go for a cup of tea right about now." Perfect. Janine could use this.

"I'm not much of a tea drinker. I'm more a Cerulean Coffee gal, but…" she trailed off. "There's a new café that opened outside of Viridian City on Route 22. They do both coffee and a variety of herbal teas." she took note of the gleam in Misty's eye.

"Well, it's been a while since I've had a good herbal tea… but I'm afraid I'm broke." Misty sighed.

"Don't worry, I'll cover you." Janine smiled. And VICTORY, thought Janine, as Misty returned the smile and nodded enthusiastically.

* * *

"You know…" Tracey muttered, watching Ash, who had been pacing back and forth for the past hour, one short bathroom break aside. "You could go talk to Misty instead of wearing a hole in the dorm floor."

"She's still asleep. I imagine she'd come back here and knock on the door to wake us up if she'd already woken up." Ash frowned.

"In situations like this, the best thing to do is talk to an adult… like Professor Oak!" Tracey brought up, causing Ash to trip and fall over, dumbfounded.

"Subtle, Trace." Ash's eyes narrowed comically. "But I know an adult I COULD talk to… one I should have called last night." he turned toward the door. As he opened it, he walked out… and right into another person. "Gah!" he yelped, frowning at first. "Watch where you're g—" he cut himself off as he noticed that person was the very girl he'd been unable to get his mind off of the entire night. "Oh, hey Misty."

"Good morning. Are you just now waking up?" Misty asked, an awkward pause following them, made even more awkward by the blushing brunette standing behind Misty.

"Oh, hey, I remember you." Ash turned to acknowledge her. "Uh… Janine, right?"

"Uh huh…" Janine swallowed hard.

"Ash, how do you know her?" Misty tilted her head slightly.

"Aah, I was doing some thinking in the lobby late last night and she was watching me." Ash explained.

"Thinking?" Misty's eyes widened slightly. "What's on your mind?"

"About last night. We were talking and then…"

'He was thinking about our talk? But… oh. Oh my god.' Misty's eyes widened even further as she began to hope for some sort of realization.

"Well…" Ash trailed off, trying to find the words…

"I was wondering if you… could help out with my Gyarados." …and utterly failing.

"Wait, what?! That's got nothing to do with last night's talk!" Misty huffed. "I can't believe you're such a stubborn, clueless idiot!" she stormed off. "Coming, Janine?"

"Uh… yeah…" Janine muttered, walking forward and hugging the wall, as if Ash were a rampaging, highly dangerous Pokémon and that wall was her only safe zone, then as soon as she was clear from Ash's reach, she trotted off at a normal pace.

"…Nice going, Ketchum." he scowled. Just then, Tracey exited behind him.

"Sounds like things didn't go so smoothly…"

"That's putting it mildly. Gah… why are girls so complicated?!" Ash frowned.

* * *

"Here are your Pokémon!" Nurse Joy greeted Misty at the front desk, handing over Misty's Pokéballs and, on a separate tray, her Togepi.

"Hey there, Togepi!" Misty greeted cheerfully. "Did you miss Mama? Sorry, I had a bad day yesterday." she prodded at the eggshell-covered stomach of her Pokémon.

"Pppppriiii!" Togepi chirped at its mother.

"Oh, what a cute little Pokémon!" Janine cooed, reaching a finger in. The baby trilled loudly, as Misty turned.

"You ready to go?" she smirked.

"Sure. Let's go." Janine nodded her head, then came to a halt, face beet red once more, as Ash and Tracey stepped out into the lobby. Misty sighed and pushed Janine out the door, ignoring Ash's calling for her. She put on an angry face to him, but in reality, she kind of wanted to cry. Unlike Ash, she had no confusion as to the nature of her thoughts: she had been in love with her friend for quite a long time… perhaps even as early on into their adventure as when they had journeyed to Lavender Town and she thought he had been killed by a falling chandelier. Back then, she had been as confused as Ash had been last night. Her confusion cleared up very quickly, however. She'd danced with him, and she'd dropped various hints to the clueless boy. She had assumed, at times, maybe he WASN'T as clueless as she thought, as he was perfectly capable of expressing jealousy every time she showed interest in a boy, and she definitely noticed. Between Danny and Rudy, two of the Orange Archipelago Gym Leaders, she figured if she acted interested enough in them, Ash might actually get a clue about his own feelings… or rather, what she wanted his feelings to be. What if… what if Ash DIDN'T feel the same way? What if that's what he was implying with that idiotic question about his Gyarados? Of course, maybe Ash was just confused… which was confusing her. Stupid, insensitive Ash Ketchum! She concentrated so much on her thoughts that she had actually stopped walking, prompting Janine to pull her by the hand. At some point into her being pulled, she just started subconsciously walking. She slowly came to her senses as Togepi acted up again.

"Ppppriiii!" it cried. That cry sounded less happy than before. It was almost like Togepi was… scared? She came to her senses fully at this point.

"Togepi, what's wrong?" she looked forward, noticing that they were outside of Viridian City now, and that Janine had let go of her and was now holding a Pokéball in her right hand. "Janine?" The older woman had a smirk on her face as she stared down Misty.

"Hon… you should REALLY watch who you agree to go out for coffee with." her tone sounded more sinister. "You never know what he or she might be plotting."

"Plotting…?" Misty's eyes widened enormously. "What do you mean plotting?! Who are you?!"

"Let me put it to you this way… PREPARE FOR TROUBLE." Misty gasped in shock, doubly so when a voice spoke up from behind her.

"And make it double!" she turned to see a purple suit-clad man, his facial features entirely obscured by a large party mask with two horns curving upward, and two horns curving downward. His hair was covered with opaque mesh, its color completely indiscernible to the younger female. To complete the look, he wore a purple tophat.

"No…!" Misty realized what was going on: she had run afoul of a THIRD group of Rocket Agents. But… why were they after her? Did they want her Togepi? Before she could answer, Janine spoke up again, kicking off their own variation of the Team Rocket motto.

"To incite fear in all creation!" Janine grinned.

"To wreak havoc on every nation!" Wayne joined his partner back to back after setting off a smoke pellet.

"To pass judgment from high above!" Janine leapt forward from her position, using her left arm as kind of a shield, as her right arm extended behind her.

"On all of those you know and love!"

"Janine!"

"Wayne!"

Janine threw her shirts and pants off in one set of motions, revealing a skin-tight black bunny suit underneath, complete with fishnet stockings. "We're Team Rocket…" she trailed off, placing her own party mask on, as well as a set of bunny ears. "…aiming our sights beyond the sky!"

"Give up now…" Wayne tiptoed backward rapidly until he and his partner were perfectly back to back. "…Or you're gonna die!" Suddenly, without prompting, one of the Pokeballs on Wayne's belt opened up, and out popped a Magneton, stunning Misty as it spoke.

"That's not inappropriate!"

"AAH! IT'S 'THAT'S NO LIE'! AMP, WE REHEARSED THIS!" Wayne shouted, clenching his fists in anger.

"Wait…" Janine trailed off, a large sweat drop forming on the side of her face. "We rehearsed this? You just said 'Hey, listen to this!' and blasted that damn boom box of yours!" A pause, as Misty's initial shock turned to exasperation. "And another thing… what is THIS awful thing?" she pointed at her costume.

"It's… a bunny suit… cause I'm dressed like a magician."

"I feel like something's going to pop out!" Janine griped.

"Hey, it tested well with our male audiences ages 18 to 25!" Wayne threw his arms in the air. "What more do you want?! I thought you LIKED attention from boys!"

"NOT LIKE THIS!" what little of Janine's face could be seen was now beet red once more, turning to Misty, who was quietly stepping backwards. "I mean, look!" Misty froze in place. "She's not intimidated by this! She thinks we're fools, Wayne!"

"Well, we'll just have to show her we're not fooling around!" Wayne pointed at Misty, who rushed to grab a Pokéball with her right hand while cradling a crying Togepi in her left arm. Wayne horrified her, however, as he casually drew a small 9 millimeter pistol, tucked neatly under his pants, and shot the Pokéball, the force of the bullet causing it to fly backward out of her hand. "Like that. See that, Janine? THAT is pure TERROR." he seemed to stare directly at Misty, who swallowed hard, her eyes wide. "She's afraid she's next… and if I didn't need her, she'd be RIGHT." he then smirked. "Janine, get that… thing." he pointed his free hand at Togepi, who Janine walked over and collected. It started to rhythmically wave its hands as it was picked up… only to be shocked into unconsciousness by Amp. Misty reached out for her baby Pokémon.

"Ugh…! TOGEPI!" she yelled, starting forward, before Wayne trained his pistol on her once more.

"Look, just cause I need you alive doesn't mean I WON'T shoot you." Wayne frowned. "So stay put, like a good girl, and get those hands in the air!" Misty, scowling, reluctantly obeyed the ridiculously-dressed man. "Good…" he turned to Janine. "Tie her up." As Janine forcefully lowered Misty's arms so that she could carry out her partner's order, Misty wondered fearfully what was in store for her…


	3. Wayne, Wayne, Go Away

PokeWing Z, Episode 3: Wayne, Wayne, Go Away

A crossover fanfiction by Dustin M. Dixon/ThatGuyWithStuff/Kuwabara Shizuru

Stupid. Unlucky. Imperiled. All were adjectives Misty Waterflower thought of to describe herself in this moment, as the woman she had trusted to have a cup of tea with was currently using a thick, long length of rope to secure her to an oak tree. Frightened, however, was the adjective that best fit her right now. She'd just had one of her Pokeballs shot out of her hand. Literally shot. In her thirteen years in this world, Misty had only seen one other trainer with a gun, and he was a trained police officer. This other man, however… this Wayne, he was no officer, nor was he any sort of gentleman. He was a Rocket… and a deadly one, unlike Jessie, James, and Meowth. She started to associate him as being deadlier than Butch and Cassidy as well, though their limited interactions didn't tell her much on whether the black-uniformed duo were capable of murder. Wayne, however… he had outright told her she'd be dead if he didn't need her… need her?

"Why are you doing this?!" she spoke up, needing an answer to her question, directing her gaze to the male of this new duo.

"I've got… orders." Wayne stated simply.

"You're bait." Janine explained, as she knotted the rope at the base of the tree. Misty wasn't going anywhere soon, to say the least.

"…What she said." he sighed. "You're bait for that Ketchum kid." Misty scowled in response.

"So you'll go to any lengths to get Pikachu, is that it?!"

"…One second." he wandered off over toward the bushes, leaving Misty to ponder her fate as he did so.

…Worried. Worried had become the dominant adjective to describe Misty Waterflower.

* * *

(Title) Wayne, Wayne, Go Away

(Silhouette) Wayne and Janine

* * *

Tensions were high behind the bushes, as Jessie addressed James angrily.

"What's WRONG with you?! He's gonna kill the twerp and possibly the twerpette!"

"Better than him killing you, me, or Meowth!" James sharply whispered, eyes narrowing in thought. "Do you really think the Boss had us stay here to help him? He's been keeping us here so we'll be easy targets when he turns and kills us!" Jessie knelt, a dawning, broken look on her face.

"We're marked… for death…?" James nodded sadly. If he spoke afterwards, Jessie no longer heard it. Had they really screwed up so colossally that they were now considered useless? Less than useless, to the point where Giovanni wanted them KILLED rather than excommunicated from the team? Why would he want that?

"Jessie… we have to leave. NOW." James shook her by the shoulders, failing to elicit a response. We have to—"

"YOU MORONS." Wayne pulled the bush apart. "You chased after this Ketchum kid for TWO YEARS for a PIKACHU?!"

"Well, it's powerful and…" Meowth started.

"It's a freaking PIKACHU!" he bellowed. "No wonder the Boss is so angry with you three!"

"But we told you about that when you got here!" James protested.

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE KIDDING!" Wayne slapped his face hard with his right hand. "You wasted god knows how much money on one STUPID ELECTRIC MOUSE?!" he stormed back over to Misty. "Amateurs, am I right? Anyway, HA, no. I don't give an electric rat's butt about, well, an electric rat. Now if it were a RAICHU on the other hand…" he trailed off, turning to her. "No. I want your little boyfriend."

"He's…" she paused. "…Not my boyfriend. He doesn't even like me like that, you idiot." Another pause. "And, uh… I don't like him like that either!"

"Let's pretend you're telling me the truth… you're still his friend, and I'm willing to bet he'd do whatever it takes to save you." Wayne grinned evilly. "And that's when…" he held up his right hand, miming holding a gun with it. "BLAMMO."

"Blam—" Misty's eyes widened as far as they possibly could. "YOU'RE GOING TO KILL HIM?!"

"Kill, murder, maim… insert your word of choice here."

"You're… you're psychotic…" A single tear rolled down Misty's cheek. She had gone from worried to frightened, once more… but this time, for the life of the boy she'd been traveling with for two years. "Please…" she turned to James and Meowth. "Please help us…! Please!" she begged. As she pleaded, Wayne, not missing a beat, reached into his jacket pocket and removed a white handkerchief, wadding it up. "I'm begging yhnn!" Misty was cut off as Wayne forcefully shoved the wadded cloth in her mouth. Holding it in place with his left hand, he used his right hand to reach into his jacket pocket once more to produce a longer white cloth, which he shoved between her teeth and brought around both sides of her head, tying both ends into a firm knot behind her.

"You're ruining my fun…" he frowned as he returned his hands to his pockets. "Shut up for a bit." he turned to Janine. "Get the portable visi-phone off of my moped. We're going to go ahead and set this up." Janine rolled her eyes.

"'Lure the girl, Janine. Tie her up, Janine, Get my visi-phone, Janine'. God, he's such a lazy jerk!" Janine whined as she walked over to the overturned moped, grabbing the visi-phone. She looked down at the moped, then over at Wayne, sarcastically adding. "You jumped off the moped before stopping it, didn't you?"

"Y… NO." Wayne shook his head vigorously in denial, prompting Janine to turn to James and Meowth, the latter of which nodded wordlessly.

"Idiot." Janine sighed, thrusting the visi-phone into Wayne's hands. "YOU make the call. If a boy answers…"

"Yeah, I know. Hang on." Wayne unfolded the viewing screen.

* * *

Idiot. Ash figured that's the adjective Misty used in her head to describe him most since she clearly had no trouble calling him as such out loud. He sure felt like an idiot, as he paced once again within the lobby of the Pokémon Center, wondering whether he should try and find wherever it is Misty and that new girl Janine went to, or whether to call his mom and let her know he'd be home later today, or to check in with Professor Oak... his choice was taken from him, however, as that familiar ringtone started up.

"Ring-ring-ring! Ring-ring-ring! Phone call, phone call!" Nurse Joy picked up the nearest phone and spoke up.

"Hello?"

"I'm looking for Ash Ketchum. Is he there?" came Wayne's distorted voice from the other end.

"Who is this?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Who I am is unimportant, to you anyway… but I have some business with Ketchum, so is he there or not? It's life or… well, you get the idea."

"I'm hanging up now." Nurse Joy started to lower the phone from her ear, only to hear a gunshot from the other end, followed by a scream. "OH MY GOD!" she shouted.

"Think THAT'S enough incentive to put Ketchum on the line? Nobody's hurt right now, but if you don't… actually, just hit that speaker button. Put me up on that lovely monitor!" Nurse Joy reluctantly obeyed, dreading the consequences of what would happen if she didn't. As the Arcanine-etched panel slid up, revealing a monitor, said monitor sprang to life, revealing Wayne, leaning in close enough to block out any telltale surroundings.

"Hiiii!" he greeted, causing everyone to look around in bewilderment. "Ketchum!" Ash and Tracey turned toward the monitor. "At last we meet!" he smiled coyly and waved his right hand back and forth.

"Uh… do I know you?" Ash looked confused.

"You only heard about him two hours ago, moron!" came a girl's voice from somewhere in the same vicinity Wayne was calling from.

'Wait… that voice sounds familiar…' Ash thought, his eyes narrowing. "Okay, so who are you?"

"Oh right, I'm such a…" he trailed off.

"Moron!" came the female voice again.

"Hey, SHUT UP or I'll point the visi-phone in YOUR direction. All those boys…"

"Gah!"

"So right! Allow me to introduce myself! My name is Wayne, and I… am an Executive for Team Rocket." Loud murmurs resounded throughout the lobby of the Pokémon Center.

"Team Rocket?!" spoke a nearby boy, looking a little younger than Ash had been when he had started his Pokémon journey.

"Didn't they blow up this center two years ago?"

"Uh, actually…" Ash laughed nervously, as he and Pikachu both rubbed the back of their heads.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Wayne frowned.

"What do you want?" Ash turned, annoyed, to face Wayne.

"A Pokémon battle, of course."

"Wait… you called this center JUST to challenge me to a Pokémon match?" Ash scratched his head. "You're just trying to steal Pikachu, aren't you?!"

"Wha… NO. I don't CARE about your stupid rat. I'm going to teach you what it means to mess with Team Rocket!" Wayne scowled. "Also, I'm bored. Come entertain me."

"Forget it. I'm not in the entertainment business." Ash smirked. "You, however…"

"Oh no… I insist." Wayne's voice took a darker tone.

"And if I decline?" Ash turned around, crossing his arms. "Believe it or not, I DON'T have time to mess with you. I'm—"

"Looking for a friend?" Ash's eyes widened as he turned around. "Tell you what, why don't we ask that friend? What do you say, uh…" he moved back, allowing Ash and the other trainers there to get a glimpse of his surroundings. On his left was what caught Ash's attention. Standing there, tied tightly to a large oak tree and with a cloth tied between her lips to silence her, was Misty, who looked fearfully at the visi-phone's screen.

"Ahs, sthh uhwhh!" Misty called to him through the gag.

"Misty…!" Ash gasped.

"Pikachupi!"

"Oh, so her name's Misty. Cool, well, I'm holding Misty here on Route 22." Wayne smirked. "I'll make this really simple for you… come and get her. If you don't… well, trust me, you won't like it."

"Fine." Ash balled his hands into fists, his nails digging into his flesh and drawing blood. "I'm on my way… you hurt her though… and no Pokémon is going to save you."

"Ooh, tough guy. Oh, and it should be clear to you already, but no cops. I don't think I need to draw a line to what happens to Misty here if I see ONE Officer Jenny. Toodles!" The screen went blank, as Ash's eyes narrowed.

…Time for a fourth option. Ash walked toward the door as he pressed the white button on his Pokédex. "Ash!" Tracey called out. "You go on ahead! I… left my Venonat's Pokéball in the male dorm!" It was an obvious lie; they had literally just picked up their Pokémon back to back a couple of minutes before Wayne called. He wished he hadn't have said something so easily debunked, but sighed in relief when Ash nodded and ran out of the Pokémon Center as fast as his legs would carry him. He walked over to Nurse Joy. "Can you patch me through with this code?" he asked, handing off a card to the bewildered Pokémon medic.

"But that's…" she trailed off.

"Yes it is." he cut her off, nodding and swallowing hard as he prepared to talk to the person he'd just had Nurse Joy contact…

* * *

Wayne glanced over with a smirk to where he had fired the gun: between James and Meowth, hitting the ground. Luckily, it had missed any rocks and avoided rebounding, but Wayne knew he'd gotten the point across, both to that irritating nurse and the two bumbling idiots he had fired at, who had decided to try and sneak away. Whether they were actually going to listen to Misty's plea earlier, or just run away… Wayne didn't know. He did know, however, that before the sun came out to play again in this cloudy weather, he'd have a body count of at least four. James and Meowth were currently sweating bullets as they gazed forward at him.

"But… why?" Jessie finally spoke up, louder than what James had hoped she would, as she climbed shakily to her feet. "We've done everything the Boss asked us to! We—"

"…You figured it out, did ya?" Wayne's smirk widened into a toothy grin, speaking up once more. "The three of you have wasted tons of our organization's money. It's a wonder we're still afloat. You may have tried to do what the Boss asked you to, but you failed. Every. Single. Time." he pointed his gun between the three of them. "You're an absolute JOKE among the other agents. I'm surprised the Boss didn't call me to kill you before now!" he trained his gun on James as the young man took a step back. "I assume you're thinking of running. It won't work, cause I DON'T miss." Wayne stared down the two standing front and center. "For what it's worth though..." he turned to Meowth. "Thanks for the idea!" he pulled back the trigger of his nine millimeter slowly, training it on Meowth.

"NHU! DUHN'T!" Misty cried out. He turned to her with a wicked grin for a second. In that second, though, he was sent flying fifty feet away by a powerful blast of water, his gun ripped from his hand and sent flying even farther. As he landed, he turned with a snarl to see the very boy he'd challenged about thirteen minutes ago.

"Hey, I don't particularly care for those three, but I'm not about to let you kill anybody." Ash frowned, pointing at Wayne, his newly-acquired Gyarados floating beside him, a look of pure rage upon its face.

"When did the twoip get a Gyarados?!" Meowth whispered to James.

"I'ono." he shrugged. "But I'm kind of glad he did."

"Just so we're clear..." Ash spoke up again. "You did say Pokémon battle... and I thought I'd stretch my new Pokémon's arms."

"Ugh... it doesn't have arms, you-"

"I was being metaphorical." Ash rolled his eyes, looking over to his bound and gagged companion.

"AHS, RUHN!" Misty cursed the wadded handkerchief in her mouth, wishing she could effectively warn Ash that he was marked for death.

"Janine! A little help here!" Wayne shouted, before looking around in bewilderment. "Janine...?" he slapped his head. "SERIOUSLY?! NOW?!"

"Shut... up...!" Janine said from behind the tree Misty was currently tied to. "You know how I am about cute boys!" She flashed a thumbs up.

"Idiot! We need to do our introduction! It doesn't feel right unless we do our introduction!" Wayne griped.

"We did our introduction 30 minutes ago, moron!" Janine's right hand shot out, middle finger raised. Ash didn't really understand this hand gesture, though he was pretty sure it was rude. Suddenly, Wayne lunged forward at his partner, producing a long length of white cloth and lifting up Janine's mask, tying it around her eyes, effectively cutting off her sight. "HEY! What was that for?!"

"You're staring right at Ketchum." Wayne pointed out after pulling her out into the open area once more. "Feeling nervous?"

"…No…!" Janine gasped.

"You're welcome." Wayne smirked, not waiting for words of gratitude. "…Know how you can thank me?"

"The motto?" Janine sighed.

"The motto."

"FINE." she sighed once more, then proceeded to their own variation of the Team Rocket motto, in a deadpan tone. "Prepare for trouble."

"Make it double!" Wayne was giddy.

"To incite fear in all creation."

"To wreak havoc on every nation!"

"To pass judgment from high above."

"On all of those you know and love!"

"Janine."

"And Wayne, of course!"

"We're Team Rocket, aiming our si… no." she stumbled back behind the tree. "Not doing this."

"Wait, what?!"

"It's ridiculous enough with this suit, but now I can't even see!" she shouted. Seconds later, the white cloth that had been used to blindfold her was tossed back in Wayne's face.

"Janine, it's supposed to be intimidating!"

"Again, does he LOOK intimidated?!" she pointed at Ash from behind the tree, who looked bewildered rather than intimidated.

"Janiiiine~" Wayne whined.

"He doesn't look intimidated! He just looks…" she peeked out at him from behind the tree, her face going beet red instantly. "…Like a total hottie…"

"I KNEW I recognized you!" Ash turned toward the tree, choosing to ignore Janine's compliment on his looks. "You're from Team Rocket?!"

"She's an executive." Wayne explained. "Just like me. Also, my partner. She was there to scout for decent Pokémon to steal. That place was barren as all get out though." he turned his gaze to Pikachu. "So, dead meat...?" he turned to Jessie, James, and Meowth, only to realize they were gone. "...Damn. It." he sighed. "I assume that's the Pikachu they've been after."

"Pika-CHU!" Pikachu's eyes narrowed in anger as it clenched its paws into fists as best it could, static discharging from its electric sacs.

"Adorable." Wayne mocked, holding up a Pokéball. "Now that you've shown me yours, I'll show you mine! Go, Thunderclap!" he tossed the Pokéball, and in a flash of red light, his first Pokémon was out, one Ash was already familiar with due to his travels through Kanto... a Raichu.

"Raiiiichu!" it called, balling its own paws into fists.

"Okay Pikachu!" Ash turned to his constant companion. "Just like with Lt. Surge's Raichu! Use Quick Attack!"

"PIKA-CHUUU!" it called out as it charged at Wayne's Raichu at a speed so fast the humans present could only make out a blur.

"Quick Attack, huh? Cool. Hey Thunderclap! Show that lame yellow mouse a REAL Quick Attack!" Ash gasped as the Raichu vanished from sight. Unlike Pikachu, nobody could follow the Raichu's movement until it had already struck the smaller Pokemon, sending it flying back about ten feet..

"Pikachu!" Ash called out as Pikachu landed. "Gyarados! Hydro Pump on that Raichu!" Gyarados roared, producing a torrent of water from its mouth that rivaled the force of a fire hose. Ash breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Gyarados recognized him as a worthy trainer, at the very least. Raichu was sent flying into Wayne, knocking him over again. Just then, though, a blue aura surrounded Gyarados, freezing it in place, as a Kadabra teleported in where Raichu had once stood. "Huh? A Kadabra?" he looked over at the tree, seeing Janine's arm pointed outward past Misty's head.

"Kadabra, send it packing with Psychic!" she ordered.

"About time you pulled your weight." Wayne muttered, as Gyarados was hefted into the air and dropped painfully, letting out a loud roar as it struggled to maintain consciousness. "Ugh... Thunderclap, return!" he recalled his Raichu. "Go, Shock Jock!" he threw another Pokéball, and from the red light emerged another Pokémon Ash had run into over the course of his Kanto journey: an Electabuzz.

"BEHBRRBRRBRR!" it shouted, raising its arms above its head.

"Shock Jock! Finish off that Gyarados with Thunderpunch!" Wayne pointed forward.

"BEHBRRBRRBRR!" it repeated, much louder this time, as it charged Ash's Gyarados, only to be intercepted by Pikachu ramming into it with another Quick Attack. It breathed heavily as it returned to its feet. Electabuzz, who had been pushed several feet back, readied another Thunderpunch. Gyarados roared once more, lunging forward and clasping the Electabuzz between its jaws.

"Really, man?!" Wayne griped, sighing as he tossed a third Pokéball. "Go, Amp!" From the Pokéball emerged the Magneton Misty had seen earlier during their introduction.

"Ready for battle!" it stunned Ash by speaking fluent human speech, much like Meowth.

"Amp, Thunderbolt that Pikachu!" Wayne ordered.

"On it!" Amp's three eyes narrowed in anger as electricity fired from the magnets on each of its three ends. Pikachu let out a cry of pain as it dropped to one of its stubby knees.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out. "It's okay, take a rest!"

"Pika!" it held its arms out and shook its head. "Pi pika Pikachupi pi-KA-chu!" it protested.

"You want to fight to save Misty?" Ash gazed down into his Pokémon's eyes.

"Pi-ka!" it nodded, turning to face Wayne once more.

"Pikachu… thanks, buddy." he smiled, pointing at Amp. "Send this clown's Magneton back to the scrapheap!"

"MAGICIAN." Wayne corrected, clearly annoyed. He turned to his Electabuzz. "I hate to do this, but… Shock Jock! Thunder!" The yellow-and-black-striped creature obeyed, calling forth thunder from the overcast sky. Ash's Gyarados roared loudly as the Electabuzz fell from its wide-open mouth, collapsing into unconsciousness. Electabuzz, however, did the same. Not wasting a moment, Janine's Kadabra initiated a Psychic once more, hefting Pikachu in the air and slamming it down.

"Pikachu!" he called out again in desperation. He called back Gyarados, then pulled a new Pokéball from his belt and giving it a toss. "Charizard, go!" In a flash of red light, Charizard was out and ready for battle. "Charizard! Roast that Kadabra! Use Flamethrower!" With a loud roar, the dragon like Pokémon took in a breath and blasted Janine's Kadabra, blackening it as its psychic hold on Pikachu loosened, allowing Pikachu to land on its feet. Kadabra teetered back and forth for a bit.

"Kadabra, Recover!" Janine ordered. However, Kadabra had run out of energy, as it collapsed, eyes swirling. "Aah... Kadabra, return!" she called out, frustrated. She produced a second Pokéball, tossing it. "Go, Natu!" she called out, and in a flash of red light, a Pokémon entirely new to Ash was hopping up and down. It was a small, spherical green bird with almond-shaped eyes and wings accented in yellow, red, and black, too short with which to fly. Under ordinary circumstances, Ash would have held out Dexter to analyze this new Pokémon, but he had much more pressing matters on his mind at this time, as he glanced back over at Misty. "Natu! Use Night Shade on that Charizard!"

"Amp, help out Natu! Hit that Charizard with Thunderbolt!" Wayne pointed at the large winged lizard, as electricity crackled around Amp.

"Here's a SHOCKING development!" he cracked as he unleashed his Thunderbolt, just after Natu's eyes glowed blue, and a strange purple aura surrounded Charizard. The Thunderbolt struck straight and true, as Charizard let out a pained roar, collapsing as soon as it was released from Natu's psychic grip.

"Charizard, return!" Ash called back his Pokémon with a scowl, weighing his options. He still had a choice of Snorlax, Bulbasaur, or Lapras. Before he could make his choice, however, he felt himself enveloped in the same aura he had seen paralyzing Charizard. His battered and weary Pikachu turned around and cried out.

"Pikapi!"

"Ugh... what..." he struggled to speak.

"Natu's Night Shade." Janine flashed a peace sign from behind the tree. "This fight's over, Ketchum."

"Urgh..." Time seemed to slow down for Ash, as Wayne walked away, away to where his gun had landed, picking it up and training it on the twelve year old boy. Before he could shoot, however, he let out a yelp of pain and dropped the weapon again as his hand was sprayed with a stream of purple liquid. "Acid?! REALLY?!" he turned with a snarl to the source of the acidic spit: an Arbok. Its trainer stood beside it, long red hair remaining still despite the wind's flow. "Thought you'd run away..." he gritted his teeth.

"I may not care much for this twerp..." Jessie trailed off, smirking as she spoke up again, echoing Ash's words upon his arrival. "But I'm not about to let you kill anybody!"

"Wait..." Janine muttered. "Where's the other two?" In that instant, her question was answered as Meowth leapt from a freshly-dug hole in the ground, clawing at Janine's party mask.

"SURPRISE FURY SWIPES!" he shredded the hard plastic as if it were toilet paper, and the mask fell apart onto the ground next to the tree.

"Weezing, Tackle attack!" James ordered as he leapt from the hole, tossing a Pokeball. Materializing from the red light was his constant companion, Weezing, who immediately obeyed its trainer's order and tackled Janine... out into the open, where she came into full view of Ash. Her face turned beet red.

"N... at... u..." she muttered, blushing furiously.

"Ha! Alright, Pikachu! Thunderbolt her Natu!" Ash didn't miss a beat.

"Pika-CHUUUUUUU!" Pikachu summoned lightning from the dark clouds overhead and struck the tiny bird Pokémon straight and true. Natu fell, eyes swirly as it lost consciousness.

"Hang on, twoipette!" Meowth looked up at Misty before running behind the tree and slicing her ropes easily with his claws. As soon as she was free from the base of the oak tree, she turned around as James met her, working furiously to untie her hands. The very second her hands were free, Misty pulled the cloth from between her lips and spat out the wad that had previously blocked her speech.

"Ash!" she cried out to him the very second the gag was out of her mouth.

"Misty!" If one word could describe Ash Ketchum at that moment, it was... relieved. His friend wasn't in AS much danger. Now it was time to finish these two.

"Arbok! Dig a hole and attack that Magneton from underground!" Jessie pointed forward triumphantly.

"CHAAA-boka!" it cried, using the force of its weight to dive underground.

"ASH, YOU HAVE TO RUN! HE'S AFTER YOU!" Misty shouted. "HE WANTS TO **KILL** YOU!"

"Amp, dodge it!" Wayne followed Misty's warning by reaching down for the gun once more, picking it up and rolling out of the way of Meowth's jump, his top hat falling from his head as he did. Grunting, he hopped immediately back to his feet. "I promised Gio-dude I would do this job, and I NEVER leave a job unfinished. KETCHUM, YOU'RE MINE!" he leapt over a low Tackle from Weezing, running forward at an incredible speed. "DIE!" he pointed the gun at Ash.

Time froze, or rather, it appeared to freeze. In fact, the following events only took about a second, but they lasted an eternity longer in the eyes of everyone, as Wayne squeezed off a single shot, hitting Ash center-right, with the force of the bullet knocking him off his feet. He landed on his back, unmoving. Everyone stared on in complete horror. Misty, despite having seen it plainly, was attempting to process what had just happened. Two years she'd known Ash now. She had seen him overcome challenge after challenge. He had overcome impossible odds. He even saved the world when the legendary birds had clashed. Only one time before had she seen him so horrifyingly still… when she and their former traveling companion, Brock, had found him and Pikachu in Pokémon Tower… d… no, he couldn't be. He couldn't be… dead… she shook her head in disbelief. And yet, there he was… so still. Unmoving… dead.

…Bereaved. Bereaved was the best adjective now to describe Misty Waterflower.

" ** _ASH-!_** " she screamed at the top of her lungs. Before she or anyone else could move toward the fallen trainer, Wayne turned his gun on Jessie.

"JESSIE!" James called out.

"Goin' for two!" Wayne shouted triumphantly. Before he could pull the trigger, though, a deafening roar sounded from the sky above, and a large blue beam of light was shot forward, hitting Wayne dead center and sending him flying back into Janine. The two of them then went flying into the air.

"Aah, why are WE blasting off?!" Wayne shouted, as they vanished in a twinkling of light.

"Hey, wait for me!" Amp called, floating off at top speed, just as the source of the orange beam from the stormy sky landed: Lance's Dragonite, off which Lance himself, with Tracey in tow, hopped. Under ordinary circumstances, she would have questioned both why Lance had shown up for the second day in a row to bail them out of a seemingly-impossible situation, or why Tracey was with him, but only one person was on her mind, as she ran to his side.

"ASH!" she screamed again, kneeling by him. "Please… no…!" she whimpered, as her tears started to fall.

"I'm… sorry." Lance spoke up. "I tried to get here as fast as possible, but…" he trailed off, clenching his fists.

"Misty…" Tracey spoke up, looking on the verge of tears himself. He'd been travelling with them for only a year, but he'd come to call them both friends, and considered them almost like family. To see one of his "family" splayed out on the ground, dead, was almost too much for him to bear. He cursed himself for staying behind to make that call, even though the call ended up saving everyone else present. He joined Lance in clenching his fists. Misty buried her head on Ash's chest, rising a second later with a shocked expression as she opened his blue and white jacket, rifling through the pocket over his center-right and expressing relief through a laugh as she noticed that there was no tear in his black shirt… no blood. Ash was alive. She removed the object that had kept him safe: his badge case, now marred with Wayne's bullet stuck in it and deformed, her expression turning to surprise as she remembered a particular quirk her friend had exhibited: rather than stashing the badges in the case as most trainers had done, Ash always kept his badges on the center left of the inside lining of his jacket. It was his own, unique way to remind himself of his accomplishments. But then… why did he have his badge case…? She ignored pondering it any further as Ash roused into consciousness again.

"Uhh… Misty…?" he asked, his voice sounding weak. He rose unsteadily until he was in a normal sitting position, upon which Misty threw her arms around him ecstatically, just happy that not only was he alive, but relatively unharmed. Everything he'd said before, everything she'd dubbed insensitive and stupid, none of it mattered now. Ash was alive, and he wasn't going anywhere. He wearily returned her embrace, the sound of her grateful sobs the only thing he focused on.

"Hoo boy… you've got some wild rides ahead of you, kid." Lance unclenched his fists, putting one hand to his forehead with a chuckle.

"Huh? Lance?" Ash turned his head to acknowledge the dragon master. "Wait…" he trailed off. "What do you mean wild rides…?"

"You'll figure it out one day." Lance smiled. Ash thought for a second about what Lance had said. Didn't Rudy tell him something similar in regards to Misty? What were they seeing that he couldn't? Did that clown see it too? He couldn't decide whether or not to pursue the matter further. On one hand, he felt like he was so close to figuring out something REALLY important, but on the other, he was glad he was alive… and whatever everyone was trying to tell him about Misty, he assumed he would do exactly as they said… figure it out one day. Yeah, that sounded good. Ash smiled. Whatever they were trying to tell him, well, he'd live another day to figure it out. For now, he was content to have his best friend there with him. They were interrupted from their embrace by James approaching and holding out the unconscious Togepi. As Misty separated from Ash, she turned and took hold of her Pokémon, shedding more tears as she hugged it to her chest. Ash put his arm around his friend, helping her to her feet as he rose in perfect sync with her. He bent over to scoop up his weakened Pikachu, turning to acknowledge the trio. "You saved us."

"Don't get used to it, twerp. We're just returning the favor." Jessie crossed her arms. "And when we meet again, we'll capture Pikachu. Don't forget it! And don't think your new friend there is going to stop us!" She glanced over at her teammates confidently. That confidence, however, faded as she caught the looks on James and Meowth's faces.

"Jessie… you gotta be kiddin'." Meowth spoke up, in a melancholy monotone. "We're marked men. Dat Wayne guy's gonna come after us again."

"And the boss marked us." James finished up. "We owe nothing to him now. We literally have no reason to chase the twer—" he bit his tongue. "To chase Ash anymore."

"But if we catch that Pikachu, the…" Jessie trailed off. Everything today had happened so fast. For several minutes, while she was unable to speak or act before, she was imagining that this was all some horrible dream and that she'd wake up any second, things being back to the way they were before. "The boss will…" she paused once more. She couldn't finish that thought… she knew it was a lie before she'd even started speaking, but her world relied on a certain formula: wake up, bathe, eat breakfast, a private chat with James –usually about things from her childhood, her mother Miyamoto's disappearance being a favorite topic of hers to have lengthy discussions on-, and attempting to catch the twerp's Pikachu… oh, and doing their motto, even if no one is around to hear it. That formula would no longer apply with everything that happened. She had been so happy to become a full-blown agent of Team Rocket. Her mother had worked directly for the former leader, Madame Boss. Now that Madame Boss was no more, her son ran the organization… and that son wanted them dead. Their world was forever changed. It was all Jessie could do to keep from collapsing in tears. "Maybe the Boss will…" she tried once more.

"Jessie…" James sighed. "It's over."

"It can't be… two years…. what did we spend all that time for?!" And her world shattered as she let the tears fall.

* * *

Within a unisex dormitory on the upper end of Team Rocket Headquarters, Butch sat, looking around to make sure his partner was still getting cleaned up in the bathroom they shared. He looked down over a box and examined the contents with his right hand: a baby bonnet with the initials "F.A.W.", a sapphire, and a black and white photograph of a young boy, appearing to be around thirteen, a baby girl in a frilly dress and the very same bonnet that sat beside the photo, and an adult woman with her hair done up in a ponytail. The boy was grinning from ear to ear, one arm around the adult woman and his free right hand held up with his index and middle fingers extended in a peace sign. He smiled briefly, shutting the flaps of the cardboard box as he looked over at the object occupying his left hand: a flesh colored strip of tape concealing a microchip. He spoke up briefly, his voice sounding entirely different. Gone was any trace of his usual rasp. Instead, his voice carried a certain suave, smooth bass line to it.  
"And now… it all begins again." he had barely finished speaking when Cassidy practically kicked down the bathroom door, walking out in nothing but a towel wrapped around her to conceal her modesty. She had hearts in her eyes as she looked around, then bowed her head in disappointment.

"Aww… it sounded like someone DREAMY was in here just now." Butch wordlessly placed his left hand to his throat. As he spoke again, his voice contained his usual rasp.

"Nope. No dreamy guy here. You must be hearin' things, Cass."

"I could've sworn…" she muttered, turning back around and shutting the bathroom door. Butch grabbed a roll of duct tape, sealing the box shut. Atop of the box was a mailing label… 

Florice A. Williams

1204 Vine St

Pallet Town, Kanto 


	4. Past Tensed!

PokeWing Z, Episode 4: Past Tensed!

A crossover fanfiction by Dustin M. Dixon/ThatGuyWithStuff/Kuwabara Shizuru

The interior of Janine and Wayne's hideout was shrouded in darkness, save for the little bit of natural light peeking through the window. This changed, however, as the new Team Rocket duo crashed loudly through the ceiling, making a large hole and landing in a heap.

"…OW…" Janine moaned, rubbing her butt as she and Wayne climbed to their feet. "What in the name of… insert deity here was that?!"

"Hyper Beam." Wayne explained simply as he brushed himself off. "Oh. You mean what FIRED the Hyper Beam, in which case… NO clue." he shrugged, reaching into his coat pocket and producing a pack of cigarettes. "But we offed Ketchum, so it's time for a victory smoke!"

"Go 'victory smoke' over that way, please. I have to report to the boss!" Janine stretched, placing her right hand to her lumbar region as she winced. She walked over to the visi-phone, picking it up off the hook and fiddling with several buttons. Several seconds later, she was greeted by light green hair, short and neatly combed, as the hair's owner stepped back from the screen.

"I have to learn how to answer these video calls properly." he spoke up in a calm, almost monotonous bass, pausing for a second as he took notice of the young woman on the other end. "Oh, hey Janine."

"Archer." Janine greeted quickly, face red.

"Jesus, what are you WEARING?" Archer's eyes widened.

"It tested well with our male demographic!" Wayne called from the other side of the room.

"Well…" Archer trailed off, eyeing Janine for a moment. "I can see WHY, but…" An awkward pause followed. "Uh, you want to speak to the boss, right?"

"Uh huh." Janine muttered.

"God… we really need to work on your conversation skills with the opposite sex." Wayne shrugged.

"Shut UP, Wayne!" Janine rapidly shook her head.

"Hey Archer, don't bother the boss if he's busy. Just tell him, when you get a chance, that we offed Ketchum. Those morons are still alive, though. Give me about two or three more hours and they'll be dead too." Wayne explained. "Wayne and Janine out." he motioned to Janine, who nodded and pushed the button. "Prepare to mobilize." he tossed his nearly finished cigarette into a pile of papers to his right, then hurried to stamp the butt out before the stack could catch fire.

"Great going, moron." Janine rolled her eyes. "And mobilizing can wait. I'm going to change." she walked off, leaving Wayne to continue stamping on the papers frantically.

(Title {Read by Misty}) Past Tensed!

(Silhouette) Misty

The skies above Pallet Town seemed to part, allowing passage for not one, but two Dragonites. On the first rode Ash, Misty, and Tracey. On the second were Jessie, James, Meowth, and Lance. The two Dragonites landed in front of a large building, the only remotely high-tech looking architecture within the entire community. Out front, watering some plants, a Squirtle walking beside him, was the man who gave Ash his Pikachu on the day he became a trainer: Professor Samuel Oak, who was dressed in his usual knee-length white lab coat, red polo shirt, brown pants, and black shoes, his gray hair blowing back and forth in the gust produced by the two large dragon Pokemon landing.

"Oh my..." he held his free arm up to his face in order to keep his eyes open. "What's..." he paused, noticing Ash, Misty, and Tracey hopping off the first Dragonite. "Ash! Misty! Welcome back!" he greeted the two, turning in time to acknowledge Tracey, who looked like he was about to explode. "And you must be Tracey!" he held out his hand, which Tracey gratefully shook.

"So good to finally meet you!" Tracey was grinning from ear to ear. That grin faded as he turned to Ash and Misty, both looking glum, the latter still in tears from earlier as she cradled her unconscious Togepi.

"Professor Oak! You've got to help my Togepi!" she whimpered, holding out the baby Pokemon.

"We would have taken it to a Pokemon Center, but..." Ash trailed off, removing his badge case once more, the bullet still lodged in it.

"Oh my...!" Oak gasped. "I have a LOT of questions about that."

"I have a question too." Lance spoke up, hopping off his other Dragonite. "Hello, Professor Oak."

"Lance!" Oak grinned, shaking the redheaded man's hand. "It's been five years! How have you been?"

"Wait... you know Lance, Professor Oak?" Ash looked back and forth between the two adults.

"Lance and I met at the Indigo Conference ten years ago when he was still training with his grandfather to be a dragon master!" Oak explained, as the eight of them entered the laboratory. Jessie, still broken from the events of the day, had to lean on James as they walked in. Professor Oak motioned to several couches positioned around a coffee table. Ordinarily, he would have forced the trio back, but, seeing that they were with the group of their own volition, or perhaps for another reason, and that the woman of the trio was on the verge of tears, he allowed them in. As they all, sans Lance and Professor Oak, sat at the table, the former of the two adults began pacing back and forth as the Pokemon researcher carried the unconscious Togepi into another room.

"Your Togepi will be okay. Professor Oak's the best." Ash smiled at Misty, placing a hand on her shoulder. "So please don't cry..."

"It's not just that!" Misty sobbed. "YOU could have died!"

"Twerpet- Misty's right." James corrected himself. "Without that..." he pointed once more at the badge case. "Wayne would have killed you."

"And then would have shot you if I hadn't shown up." Lance didn't miss a beat, looking toward the periwinkle-haired young man. "Speaking of... what can you tell me about this Wayne?"

"Nothing. We literally just met 'im." Meowth shrugged.

"Then why did he want you dead?" Lance pondered, stopping in his tracks and sweeping his cape back.

"We failed the boss once too often..." James looked over at Jessie, who hadn't said a word since Lance's arrival on Route 22 and her breakdown. Right now she had a glassy look in her eyes. James, noticing this, held up a hand to silence Lance from any further questions. "I'll answer anything you want to ask later, but for now..." he trailed off, as Jessie stood up, turning slowly, robotically to Professor Oak as he emerged empty-handed.

"Do you... have a shower... " she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Er, yes..." Oak tilted his head. "Upstairs. Second room on the left. I'll get one of my assistants to leave a change of clothes under the door for you." he nodded.

"Thank you..." to Jessie, nothing sounded better at the moment, but she currently lacked the emotional capacity to express visual gratitude. All she could think about, as she stood and walked up the stairs, turning at the door that the older man had told her about, was the fact that she had failed. Her mother would be ashamed. As she discarded her old Team Rocket uniform and glanced down at it, fresh tears stung her eyes as she slid down the door behind her, wrapping her arms around her calves and letting the tears come once more.

Misty's eyes alternated between the hole in Ash's jacket and the other room, as if she expected Togepi to toddle up to her any second now. She could barely keep her mind on the recap Lance was currently giving Professor Oak.

"And that's what happened." Lance shrugged.

"Sounds like a lot to take in." Oak turned to acknowledge Ash. "That explains why you traded in your Squirtle for that Gyarados." A pause. "I'm proud of you, Ash."

"Aw, thanks Professor…" Ash rubbed the back of his head, his face beet red for that moment, as Oak turned back to Lance.

"I'm curious though, Lance… how did you know Ash, Misty, and Tracey were on that cruise ship with Team Rocket?"

"Well, aah…" Lance trailed off. "I happened to be in the area when Tracey called the Coast Guard." His eyebrows raised slightly. Another brief pause.

"…I see." Oak nodded slowly. "Anyway, the two of you…" he pointed to Ash and Misty. "Should probably get back home." He turned once more to Lance. "Lance, would you like to spend the night? There's a guest bedroom at the end of the second floor hallway. Two, actually." He trailed off, shooting a glance James and Meowth's way, as if to invite them.

"Why are you being nice to us? We've tried to steal your Pokemon. SEVERAL times." James eyed the older man up and down, suspicious of his intent.

"Would you rather I leave you out there for Wayne to find you?" Oak shrugged. A brief pause occurred as he adjusted his tie. "We're all in this one together."

"Thank you." James placed the palms of his hands together and bowed, with Meowth imitating his action.

"I was actually going to ask if I could stick around for a few days and see if I could apprehend this Executive." A pause. "If you wouldn't mind, that is."

"I'd actually feel relieved for the lot of them. Now then…" Oak then turned to acknowledge Tracey. "My grandkids have a spare room at their place. Let them know you're here to study with me."

"St… study?!" Tracey was amazed. "With you? But Professor, you haven't even looked at my drawings yet!"

"I have actually seen a few." Tracey shot him a puzzled look. "Your friend might have swiped your sketchpad while you were asleep a few times to show off your drawings." Ash grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, well… it was important to you, and…" he muttered.

"Anyway, I could always use another assistant. One of my others just up and took a job under Professor Birch from Hoenn. I could use someone who's studied Pokémon as extensively as you."

"It… it would be an honor!" Tracey grinned as wide as humanly possible, ecstatic at the opportunity to work with his idol. Ash turned his head, pleased to see a smile on Misty's face despite all they'd been through that morning. She turned toward him, the smile widening a bit.

"What do you say we head back to your house?" she spoke up, the sadness in her voice diminished greatly from the last time she had spoken up. Ash thanked whatever legendary Pokemon he had seen the day he had set out on his Kanto adventure, before nodding and turning toward the door.

"I'll bring your Togepi by as soon as it's done recuperating, Misty." Oak smiled. "It'll be alright, don't worry."

"Thank you, Professor." Misty nodded.

"Ready to go?" Ash turned to his companion once more. Misty repeated a nod as they walked for the door. Ash, deciding to be gentlemanly, held the front door open and gestured to her to go on through.

"You're too kind!" Misty complimented him as she exited. Before Ash followed her, he caught both Lance and James flashing a thumbs up with wide grins. Shrugging it off, he shut the door behind him.

"…I don't think he's quite old enough to pick up on your cues just yet." Oak's eyes narrowed comically.

The outside of the Viridian City Pokemon Center was much different than usual, with police swarming the area in droves. A tall brunette boy, dressed in coveralls and a blue cap, stood alongside the similarly-dressed Janine. He turned to her, blue eyes comically narrow as he spoke up.

"Whole lotta police today. Do you think they figured out that you broke in?"

"No way! I was flawless!" Janine crossed her arms, blowing a stray brown bang out of her eyes, then, when it outright refused to stop blocking a portion of her sight, tucking it angrily underneath the cap she wore. "Do you have a disguise for every occasion?"

"Yes." he quickly answered. "I ALWAYS have a disguise." A pause. "You should try it sometime. Now that Misty girl knows what you look like."

"And? If I wanted to ACTUALLY be friends with her, I'd have not lured her into your trap." Janine shrugged, eyeing an approaching Officer Jenny. "Act casual." she instructed.

"Excuse me!" Officer Jenny spoke up as she stood before the Rocket duo. "We're on the lookout for a man dressed like a clown."

"That's MA—GHHCHN." Wayne started, before Janine clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Haven't seen anyone like that, Officer!" Janine laughed nervously.

"…Okay, well we believe he had a partner working from within the Pokemon Center." Officer Jenny shook her head, correcting herself. "Actually, we KNOW he had an accomplice. We found a bobby pin with the name 'Janine S. Ruglia' on it." she explained. "We're offering a reward for anyone who turns in any information on these two!"

"Well, we've heard nothing. If we do, however, you'll be the first to know!" Janine nodded, grinning cheekily as she pulled Wayne along with her, letting go of his mouth.

"Ugh… why do people think I'm a clown?" Wayne whispered harshly.

"How do you NOT get that impression when you look at your outfit?" A pause. "You look good like this. Maybe ditch the magician costume and dress like that from now on, if you aren't going to show your real face."

"That costume took a LOT of time to assemble." he spoke more plainly as they left any passerby's earshot, traveling along Route 1. "…Thanks, by the way." he nodded, acknowledging Janine's quick compliment. Another pause. "So… flawless, huh?"

"I can't BELIEVE I forgot my bobby pin…" she muttered. "And where did those idiots go off to?"

"No clue. Maybe whatever sent us flying gobbled them up." Wayne shrugged. "But one thing's for sure. I'm not reporting back to Giovanni until we're absolutely SURE they're alive or dead." He subtly raised a hand, hearing footsteps along the stone road. Janine nodded, equal in subtlety, as they slowed their pace. Beside them, two younger boys walked.

"Last one to Pallet Town's a rotten egg!" the boy closer to the duo challenged.

"Do we even know for SURE Lance the Dragon Master is there?" The second one sounded a bit unsure. The two stopped in their tracks, exchanging an intrigued look.

"Lance the Dragon Master…?" Janine put a finger to her lip in wonder. "Could that thing that attacked us have been a dragon?"

"It was flying… possibly a Dragonite?" Wayne shrugged, turning to acknowledge the younger boys. "Hey kid, did you say Lance the Dragon Master's in Pallet Town?" The two kids stopped in their tracks.

"Uh, well, some adults back in Viridian City talked about two Dragonites flying overhead with a bunch of people in tow. One of 'em looked like Lance, and there was a Meowth!" the boy explained. "Anyway, yeah, the adults were saying the two Dragonites flew off toward Pallet Town!"

"Thanks, kid. Always wanted to meet the Dragon Master." Wayne grinned, turning to his partner as his eyebrows lowered sinisterly as he flashed a peace sign. She responded by lowering her eyebrows in kind with a smirk. As they walked away, the other boy turned to his companion.

"Didn't your mom ever teach you not to talk to strangers?"

"Well, he seemed nice…" the first boy shrugged.

As Ash opened the front door to his house, he took a look around for signs of his mother or the Mr. Mime she had befriended a year and a half ago when he had finished circling around Kanto to collect gym badges. He took note of the one light on in the immediate vicinity: coming from the kitchen. Had Professor Oak notified his mother that he'd be back soon? Was she cooking something for lunch? He'd usually fixed his own lunch, but in that moment, a realization of hunger hit him, and he was never one to turn down free food. He stepped aside to allow Misty entrance into the house as he raced into the kitchen.

"Mom, I'm home!" he yelled, slipping immediately on the floor and zooming past the figure at the sink. "Waah!" he cried out as he took a hard spill, landing butt-first on the ground as he collapsed into a supine position, gazing upward. The figure raced over to check on him.

"Ash! Are you okay?" That voice was definitely not his mother's… nor was it a woman's. As his vision came quickly back into focus, it took him a minute to process the man standing before him, despite their time together throughout his Kanto journey. Slowly, his mind put it together. Orange shirt, brown long pants, green vest, squinty eyes, tan skin, brown spiky hair… all the same since they had parted ways on Valencia Isle at Professor Ivy's laboratory. Before Ash could address his friend by name, Misty, who was now standing in the kitchen entryway, beat him to it.

"Brock?!"

"Uh… hey guys." he rubbed the back of his head. "Surprise!"

"What are you doing here?" Ash questioned groggily. As Brock reached out a hand to help his friend up, he spoke up once more. "No, I'm alright Brock… just… the floor's kinda slippery."

"Yeah, Mimey just mopped a few minutes ago." Brock explained. "I thought I'd prepare some lunch for your mom while she's out shopping for groceries." His eyes trailed down to the bullet hole in Ash's shirt. "What's THAT?!" he sounded freaked.

"Gunshot." Ash shrugged. "I'm alright." he spoke up again quickly, before Brock could begin a new line of questioning, holding out his badge case as he stood once more. "This saved me."

"But you wore your badges on your jacket… why do you still have that?" Brock tilted his head slightly.

"…It's not important. Not right now. What is important is that I'd be dead or in severe pain if not for this baby." Ash smirked. "But hey, what about that 'ship needing a captain' talk and staying with Professor I—" he cut himself off, eyes narrowed comically, as he saw Brock huddled over in the far corner, blue in the face, a gloomy aura around him as he spoke up.

"Don't mention that name…" he muttered.

"Wait, what." Ash said flatly.

"Things didn't go quite as planned, I take it." Misty shared Ash's comically narrow eyes.

"Don't want to talk about it…" Brock muttered. Just then, they heard the front door open. Before they could turn to acknowledge the newcomer, a flash of brown, pink, yellow, purple, and green raced into the kitchen, skidding into her son, as Delia Ketchum threw her arms around Ash, her brown eyes wide with concern.

"Ash! Are you alright?! Professor Oak called me on my cellphone and told me what happened! What kind of trouble have you been in, young man?!" she spoke rapidly.

"Mom, mom!" Ash called out, gasping for air beneath the crushing force being applied to his torso currently due to the bear hug he was trapped in. "NEED AIR…"

"Oh!" the brunette older woman relaxed her grasp slightly, tears welling in her eyes as she spoke up again. "I'm just glad you're alive!"

"That makes two of us." Ash sighed, holding out his badge case once more. "This has seen better days, though."

"Four of us." Misty and Brock spoke up simultaneously.

"Okay… four of us." Ash sheepishly corrected himself, deciding to change the subject. "How long has he been here?" he jabbed a thumb in Brock's direction.

"About two weeks." she answered. "I found him half-dead in a field on the way home from the store one evening."

"Half-dead is such a strong way of putting it…" Brock rubbed the back of his head once more.

"You were dehydrated and starving. In my day, we called that half-dead." Delia crossed her arms. "But enough about that." she turned to Misty, surprising her with a hug matching the one she had just given her son. "I'm glad you're okay too, Misty."

"Thanks, Mrs. Ketchum. I was more worried about Ash and Togepi than myself, though…" she trailed off. Pikachu, who had chosen to stand and listen for the time being, finally spoke up.

"Pikapi-kachu!" he greeted.

"And how could I forget you, Pikachu?" Delia picked up and hugged the electric yellow mouse. Before they could speak any further, however, the doorbell rang. "Huh… Professor Oak said he'd be another hour. Who could that be?" she walked back into the living room to answer the door. As she opened it, she saw the rapidly-retreating form of the local mailperson, and at her feet, a package with the following label:

Florice A. Williams

1204 Vine St

Pallet Town, Kanto

"Florice Williams…?" she spoke up, confused. The address was indeed correct, but she had owned this house for ten years now, and it was previously completely unoccupied, being built by Professor Oak's son as a wedding gift for her and her husband Seahn. This had ALWAYS been her house. She was snapped out of her confusion temporarily as Ash spoke up.

"What's going on, Mom?"

"Uh…" she picked up the package and turned to Ash, holding it in such a way that the label was clearly visible.

"Who's Florice Williams?" Ash asked, as Misty, Brock, and Pikachu looked at the package's label as well. "I thought we were the only people who owned this house?"

"We ARE." she corrected. "So why is this addressed to a Florice Williams?"

"…" Misty stared blankly, noticing a small name scribbled on the side of the box. "…It says 'Misty' there… but why…" she trailed off, holding out her hands for the box, which Delia handed over. Peeling the tape sealing the folds of the box carefully, almost hypnotically, she opened it, seeing the items within, her attention split more between the sapphire and the photograph than on the monogrammed baby bonnet. "…That's my birth stone." She felt overwhelmed, like she was about to… she was stopped from hitting the floor as she fell forward by Ash, who rushed to grab her as the box dropped, its contents bouncing before settling once more in the cardboard bottom.

"MISTY!" Ash cried out, helping her over to the couch and setting her down.

"Ash…" she muttered, rousing out of her shock for a second. "That's my birth stone." she repeated.

"Forget the birth stone! Are you okay?!" he put a hand on her shoulder.

"I need… to see that photo." she pointed faintly over to the box. Brock hesitantly reached into the box and grasped the photograph, walking it over to Misty. She looked hazily at the woman in the center frame of the picture… the woman bore a striking resemblance to her, she took note. She looked at the baby intently, able to draw only one conclusion from the picture…

"…Is that… me…?" she asked, after an all-too-long period of silence. "Am I… that baby…?" Ash looked at the photograph as well, also noting the resemblance of the woman to Misty. "Has my entire life… been a big lie…? But…" she set the photograph down, slipping the satchel from her shoulders as she turned and reached into it, pulling out another photograph: this one of her at an older age –Ash reckoned she was around four when this photograph was taken-, with her older sisters and two adults, presumably their parents. Red hair on her mother in the picture aside, there was virtually no resemblance between the two females, nor was there a resemblance between her and her father. He did, however, sport the same shade of blond hair that her sister Daisy had. After another uncomfortable silence, Misty spoke up, in a defeated monotone. "…They look nothing like me." She berated herself mentally. Why had she not noticed this before? Why did she just accept that she looked nothing like any of the other members of the Waterflower family?

"I'm not… a Waterflower." she spoke up again, her voice breaking. "I'm not Misty Waterflower…" she muttered, a blank expression on her face. All Ash could think to do was put a comforting arm around her as she buried her head in her hands and silently began to cry.

The door leading into Professor Oak's laboratory loomed before the Rocket pair, as Janine pulled out a smoke grenade.

"You know what to do if any boys are in there." Wayne instructed.

"Close my eyes, got it." Janine muttered. "Even if those morons aren't in there, there are probably some great Pokemon to swipe." she smirked. "The Boss will be pleased either way."

"Well after our performance earlier, we'd better get SOMETHING right." Wayne frowned, as the two donned gas masks. "Now… on the count of three." A pause, as he silently counted to three using his fingers. He and Janine moved in unison, kicking down the door and, not missing a beat, Janine launched the smoke grenade. As the thick fog erupted from the canister, Lance, James, Oak, and Meowth coughed heavily. Once again, not missing a beat, the two began to speak.

"Prepare for trouble!" Janine started.

"Make it double!" Wayne enthusiastically added.

"To incite fear in all…" she trailed off, seeing Lance and starting to go beet red, before closing her eyes. "In all creatio… oooon… darn!" she took cover behind her partner.

"I told you to shut your eyes!" Wayne griped.

"It didn't work!" Janine shook her head frantically.

"That's them!" James pointed at the pair between coughing fits.

"I see you recognized my partner." Wayne smirked. "Now once more –Janine, stay turned around-, prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double!" Janine's right index finger shot up.

"More like 1.5, but you get the idea." Wayne rolled his eyes. "Anyway…" he jabbed a thumb back at his partner.

"To incite fear in all creation!"

"To wreak havoc on every nation!"

"To pass judgment from high above!"

"On all of those you know and love!"

"Janine!"

"Wayne!"

"We're Team Rocket, aiming our sights beyond the sky!"

"Give up now, or you're gonna die!" Amp materialized automatically from Wayne's Pokeball.

"That's no lie!" A pause. "That's the line, right?"

"Right. Now THAT'S what I call an introduction!" Wayne laughed.

"So you're the person… who shot Ash!" Oak coughed.

"Shot him dead, I did!" the brunet grinned evilly underneath the gas mask. "Now …" he produced a second canister and tossed it, as a noxious green smoke erupted from it.

"Knockout gas…!" Lance hacked away, slipping into unconsciousness. Meowth got down on all fours, feeling faint, but he was determined to go get help.

"Hang on, Jimmy!" he shouted, as the four adults in the room lost their respective battles with unconsciousness. He barely dodged a bullet from Wayne's gun as he darted past them, off toward the Ketchum Household...

Misty Waterflower. Florice Williams. Misty Waterflower... the thirteen year old girl couldn't... no... didn't want to make heads or tails of what she'd just learned about herself. She wished she could go back to yesterday, to that moment before she'd... she'd lost something important. The boy she held more feelings for than those of mere friendship... she had lost something of great importance to him. That same boy now had his arm around her, offering her a literal shoulder to cry on.

"Listen to me." he spoke up. "You're whoever you choose to be. Mom, Brock, Tracey, Professor Oak, and me... we all met you as Misty Waterflower. I don't CARE if that's not your real name. What matters to me are YOUR feelings on this. What do YOU want to be known as?" A pause. "Misty Waterflower OR Florice Williams... it doesn't matter. You're my best friend regardless of name." He stood up, and Delia took his place in reassuring her.

"Like Ash said, it doesn't matter who you are. I'll welcome both Misty Waterflower and Florice Williams into this house." she shot the younger female a wink. Just then, there was a loud pounding at the door. She walked over and opened it, surprised to see Meowth standing there.

"Guys, we got trouble! Dat Wayne guy's back wit' his partner!" he said, not waiting for a greeting.

"Already?!" Ash gasped.

"Who's Wayne?" Brock asked.

"The guy who did this." he pointed at the bullethole in his shirt once more.

"He knocked everyone out but Jessie! ...I think?" Meowth continued. "She was still upstairs, and, and..." Meowth's voice trailed off as he collapsed from the effects of the gas.

"We've gotta hurry!" Ash marched for the door.

"Ash!" Delia called sternly. "This isn't some game, this man SHOT YOU!"

"And he's going to shoot everyone there, most likely!" Ash turned. "He's gotta be stopped!"

"Then let the police handle him!" Delia argued. "I'll call them right now!"

"By the time they get here, it'll be way too late!" Ash scowled. "It may already be too late, but..." he trailed off, practically kicking down the door as he charged toward Oak's laboratory.

"ASH, GET BACK HERE!" Delia yelled frantically after her only son.

"I'll go after him!" Brock turned to the older woman for a split second before following Ash out the door.

"I guess..." Wayne trailed off, finishing up with tying Oak's hands behind his back. "I gotta waste all of these people..." he trailed off. A pause followed, before he grinned wickedly. "And here I thought this was going to be boring."

"So who are you gonna shoot first?" Janine looked between the four restrained males.

"Hey. You're not going beet red." Wayne pointed out.

"Because they're unconscious." Janine shrugged. "It doesn't bother me when their eyes aren't on me." Wayne simply copied her shrug as he pointed his gun at James. "Well... I DID get asked to specifically kill this moron, so..." he started pulling back the trigger. He was interrupted by a shout of "NO!" as a Pokeball smacked against his gun, altering his aim. Rather than inflicting a fatal gunshot wound on James, Wayne made a hole in Oak's hardwood laboratory floor. As the Pokeball landed, an Arbok emerged from it.

"Oh. It's you. Was wondering where you went off to." Wayne smirked, as he glanced up at the redhead who beaned him in the hand just now.

"You're that clown from earlier!" Jessie scowled.

"MAGICIAN!" Wayne yelled, but before he could point his gun at the woman, her Arbok lunged at him, causing him to drop it. He rolled out of the way to avoid Arbok's bite, and pointed at it afterward. "Amp, send that thing packing! Sonicboom!"

"Got it!" Amp's three eyes narrowed as its magnets began to twirl. Soon, a massive wind erupted from the metallic Pokemon, slamming Arbok into the nearest wall with incredible force.

"Arbok, fight it off! Hit him with Acid!" Jessie ordered.

"Useless." Wayne chuckled. "Amp... just sit there." he flashed a mysterious grin to his Pokemon.

"Going easy on me?" Jessie smirked. However, her smirk vanished as soon as the acidic spit connected with Amp, rolling harmlessly off.

"Nope!" Wayne nodded to his Magneton, who hit Arbok with one more Sonicboom, fainting it. "Just proving a point. Steel types are immune to poison, moron."

"Steel types?" the older redhead cocked an eyebrow. This was the first she had ever heard of the Steel type.

"New type discovered in neighboring Johto." Wayne offered his prey the cliffnotes version, as he reached down for his gun once more. Training it on Jessie, he was interrupted from pulling the trigger this time by a powerful Thunderbolt sending his body into painful spasms.

"What the...?" he turned, his eyes widening as he saw one of the two people who had just arrived along with his Pikachu. "You know..." he frowned. "...When I shoot people, they tend to DIE."

"Guess I'm made of tougher stuff than what you're used to." Ash smirked. A pause. "You're not dressed up like a clown."

"MAGICIAN!" Wayne's pupils vanished as he clenches his fists in anger.

"So THIS is what you really look like!" Ash gave his would-be assassin an 'I Have You Now' look.

"Bzzt!" Wayne grinned evilly. "Wrong! This is another disguise. You won't live to see what I REALLY look like!"

"Well, you say that, but..." he turned to his companion, only to realize said companion had since abandoned his position next to him. "Uh... Brock?" He slapped his face with his right hand as he took note of Brock, standing over in front of Janine and striking up a conversation.

"Hello miss! My name's Brock, what's yours?"

"Uh...!" Janine was beet red.

"On second thought... keep doing your thing, man." he laughed. "Looks like it's you and me!" Ash stared down his would-be killer.

"Twerp!" Jessie exclaimed, happy for the first time in her life to see her former enemy. "And... whatever your name is!" she pointed at Brock.

"Brock." he flashed a thumbs up.

"Wayne..." Janine stammered.

"Argh... DARN IT." he snarled. "AMP, THUNDERBOLT THAT PIKACHU!"

.

"Right!" Amp spoke up, sending out a powerful Thunderbolt and striking Pikachu straight and true.

"Pikaaa-!" it gasped, still in pain from earlier.

"Pikachu...!" Ash watched, seemingly frozen in place as Pikachu finally submitted to his injuries from earlier and now, his eyes going swirly as he fell forward.

"Guess he was at his limit!" Wayne grinned once more. "Too bad for you, Ketchum." He stepped for the gun, causing Brock to snap to attention.

"Oh no you don't! Geodude, GO!" Brock shouted, tossing a Pokeball. As it hit the ground, a foot tall rock with humanlike hands attached to long arms, two large eyes, and a mouth, materialized and spoke up.

"Geodude." it turned to Brock.

"Geodude, Tackle that gunman!" Brock ordered and watched in satisfaction as Geodude charged into Wayne. Despite being only 45 pounds, the fact that Geodude was made of pure rock gave it a competitive edge in sending the brunet assassin sprawling to the ground. "Good! Now use Rock Throw!" he pointed at Wayne. It was then that Janine turned away from him, allowing a moment –as Wayne barely rolled out of the way of the body slam Geodude did in lieu of not actually having a rock to throw—to gain her composure before reaching for a Pokeball. She gave it a toss, with a shout of "Espeon, go!" From the Pokeball emerged a quadrupedal Pokemon. Ash could see something of a resemblance to Eevee, a Pokemon from the Kanto region, but this particular Pokemon had more of a catlike appearance. Its tail split into two near the end. Its almond-shaped eyes narrowed angrily at Ash as it raised its head.

"Espeon!" it cried, as Ash was surrounded in a blue aura and lifted off the ground. He was then sent into painful spasms as Amp hit him with a Thunderbolt.

"ASH!" Brock shouted.

"Lickitung, go!" Jessie tossed out her only other Pokeball. Out from it materialized a three foot tall pink, reptilian Pokémon with cream-colored patterns running across its ample anterior. A long similarly pink tongue hung from its mouth, bobbing up and down.

"Llllicki!" it greeted.

"Lickitung, Lick that Magneton!" Jessie pointed at Amp. Amp turned, relenting on its assault on the younger trainer long enough to examine its assailant as it pivoted back from the pink creature.

"Are you… are you joking?" Amp flatlined, retaliating with a Thunderbolt as its three eyes narrowed. Lickitung let out a cry of pain.

"Is that seriously what you're sending out against me?" Wayne frowned. "You're pathetic." he turned to Amp, pointing at Lickitung with a flick of his wrist. "Amp! Tackle that Lickitung!"

"With gusto!" its eyes narrowed further as it barreled forward. Before it could slam into the hapless Pokémon, it was interrupted by Geodude ramming into it hard, sending it flying into the nearest wall. With a grunt of anger, Wayne produced another Pokéball. "Go ShootingStar!" he tossed the ball, waiting for the purple star with a red gem in its center to materialize.

"A Starmie…" Ash gasped. "But you've been using Electric types."

"This Starmie's special." Wayne smirked, pointing at Jessie's Lickitung. "ShootingStar, Thunderbolt!"

"HYAH!" the purple star grunted, spinning at top speed as it generated a Thunderbolt before Lickitung had a chance to react, sending it crashing motionless to the floor, eyes swirling.

"Lickitung!" Jessie cried out, as Wayne reached down once more for his gun.

"Now, back to the matter at h-BLLBLBLL-!" he was interrupted by a powerful blast of water sending him sprawling back, missing Jessie by centimeters as he was forced up, up the staircase, slamming up against the wall. Janine, surprised by this, lowered her hand as Espeon released Ash from its psychic hold. He and Brock turned to glance at the source of the stream. A Staryu stood, water dripping from its topmost point, and standing behind it, smirking as she held its Pokéball, her side ponytail bobbing lightly in the slight breeze from the air outside, was…

"Misty!" Ash and Brock greeted simultaneously.

"Oh. It's you." Wayne sputtered, spitting out excess water. "Come to get sent off with your friends?"

"Actually, I thought I'd drown a clown." she rebutted cockily. "And since you're the only one around—"

"I'm a MAGICI—" Wayne started, only to get sprayed by another powerful blast of water.

"Sorry, what was that?" Misty's smirk widened a bit. "Having trouble making that out over 'bllbllbll'!"

"I SAID—BLLBLLBLL-!" Wayne was cut off again by Staryu's water spray.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to talk with your mouth full?!" Misty retorted.

"You little…" Janine growled, tiptoeing out from behind Brock. "Espeon, Psybeam that Star—" she cut herself off, eyes widening comically as her Espeon was sent rocketing past her with yet another powerful burst of water.

"You were saying?!" Misty challenged, as Espeon fainted upon collision with the nearest wall.

"Espeon, return!" Janine barked angrily, recalling her fainted Pokémon. "As I was saying…" she glanced up at Wayne, then back at Amp, who swayed side to side as if to say 'Nope!', before raising her voice several octaves. "RUN AWAY!" Wayne didn't need to be told twice, recalling Amp and ShootingStar with a scowl and clearing the staircase in a single leap, grunting in pain as he landed at the bottom.

"No fair! We had them!" Wayne whined as they took off as fast as their legs would carry them.

"It doesn't matter, we're way outnumbered…" Janine growled once more. "And besides…"

"Team Rocket's running off again!" they shouted in unison as they barreled past Misty out the door. The redheaded girl could swear she saw a twinkle as they vanished over the horizon.

"Y'all don't come back now, y'hear?!" she called into the distance, faking an Osakan accent. she was bum rushed immediately after in a group hug by Ash, Brock, and surprisingly, Jessie.

"You were AWESOME, Misty!" Ash cheered. "Uh… actually…" he paused sheepishly. "What should I call you?" he finished, causing Jessie to stare on in confusion.

"…" Misty winked at her best friend. "You can call me whatever you want."

"Misty'll do." Ash returned her wink. A pause. "I guess we should untie the guys, huh?"

"Yeah, we really should." Brock added. "Uh…" he paused, noticing they were all still out like lights. "What kind of stuff did those two use?"

"I don't know…" Jessie trailed off. "…But it doesn't matter in James' case. A hundred Electrodes Exploding wouldn't wake him up."

"Did… you just crack a joke?" Ash smiled.

"I guess I did." Jessie smirked playfully.

"Well… it's like the professor said." Ash recalled his mentor's words from nearly an hour ago. "We're all in this together now."

"Ordinarily I'd tell you where to shove that goody-good talk…" A pause. "But just this once, because our lives are on the line otherwise… what the hell."

"What the hell is right!" came a voice from the doorway, causing every conscious person in the room to turn and acknowledge the presence of its owner. Standing there in the doorway, donned in a brown poncho, but otherwise dressed as he normally was in a purple long-sleeve shirt and black long pants, his spiky brown hair bobbing back and forth in similar fashion to Misty's ponytail, was the grandson of the very owner of this laboratory.

"Waa-! Gary?!" Ash called out.

"What's been going on?! And why does it look like Kanto War 2: Electric Boogaloo in here?!" Gary wasted no time in peppering the lot of them with questions. "And who were those two who rocketed out of here?" he looked toward Oak, Lance, Tracey, and James. "And why are they tied up?! And—"

"Hang on… I can only answer so many questions at once." Ash held up a hand. "First, let's UNtie the four of them and wake 'em up."

"Darn!" Wayne spat as they walked along the path from Pallet Town to Viridian City, aided by two medium-sized sticks, as their legs had started to cramp up after a few minutes of high-speed escape. "Never would have thought that redhead would be a problem for us! Should have shot her when I had the chance!"

"Yeah, well we should've done a lot of things!" Janine complained. "And I think the soles of my shoes are wearing thin!"

"AND I left my gun. GREAT." Wayne shook his head. "I mean… they won't trace it, but still, it's annoying."

"Very." his partner affirmed with a flick of her brown bangs. "So what now? We have to report our failure to the boss, and he WON'T be happy. ESPECIALLY since you somehow botched killing Ketchum!"

"I didn't BOTCH anything. That shoot was good." Wayne turned to her, smirking as he spoke up again. "He had something there. I don't know what. But he had it. If I can find out what it is, he'll have no such luck the next time." A pause. "On second thought, I may just kung fu break his neck. You know what's coming up in two months, right?"

"The World Martial Arts Tournament?" Janine returned his smirk.

"The World Martial Arts Tournament." the brunet boy nodded. "Let's extend Ketchum an invite." Another pause. "It goes against my better judgment, but… he might need some training. Brush up on your boy skills. I want to have some fun kicking eight tons of crap out of him."

"Wait… you want me to teach him?! Are you mad?!" Janine glanced at her partner with comically wide eyes.

"Why yes, absolutely livid, thank you for asking." A third pause. "Oh. You meant… nope! I want him to put up a little bit of a fight before I end him. And I WILL end him." he grinned wickedly as Viridian City loomed over him. "In fact…"

Hours had passed upon the wakening of Oak, Lance, James, and Tracey, and now the entire group plus Delia Ketchum sat at the brunette woman's table, feasting merrily… merrily, that is, except for one person, who glanced down at her juice, deep in thought. Ash took notice of this as he put a hand to her shoulder.

"Misty… what's up?"

"…" she remained silent for a moment. "I want to know."

"Know…?" It was a silly question; Ash already knew what she wanted to know, yet felt compelled to ask, regardless.

"…About my real family. About the Williams family. I mean, if what was in that box was real." she said. "Mrs. Ketchum, would you care if I used your phone in the morning?"

"You can use it now, if you'd like, dear." Delia smiled at the younger girl.

"No, my sisters are already getting their beauty sleep." Misty sighed.

"What about your adoptive family, on that note?"

"They're still that: family. But part of me is always going to wonder… I want to track them down, but I don't know if I can do it a—"

"Don't finish that." Ash crossed his arms playfully. "Cause you aren't alone. Even if no one else at this table's willing to help you find these Williamses, I AM." he finished with a smile, which the redheaded girl quickly returned.

"Thank you, Ash." she put her left arm around him in a half-hug.

"So Twerpe—" Jessie caught herself. "Er… Misty, you're not a real Waterflower? I mean, you weren't born into that family?"

"Her birth name's Florice Williams, if that box of stuff was real." Ash explained.

"Can we see it?" James asked. A pause as all eyes were on the former Rockets. "We're ex-con artists. We can usually tell if someone else is pulling a con!"

"Like Biff and Cassidy and the breeding center?" Ash asked flatly, eyes comically narrow.

"One… it was Butch. He's sensitive about that." James frowned. "And two, what, would it kill you to at least let us have a look?" A brief pause.

"Mom, where'd you set that box?"

"One second…" Delia tore her attention away from Oak, getting up and walking past the table they were seated at, past another, smaller table she had set up for the Pokémon –which Pikachu, Meowth, and a fully-healed Togepi were seated at, chowing down—and out of the dining room, emerging seconds later with the very box they had been talking about. James took a look around it.

"I know this writing's familiar… but I can't place it." he muttered. Jessie, however, was looking at a different label: the return address.

"THIS… we CAN." she trailed off. "It's from the Viridian City Rocket headquarters. An agent sent this."


End file.
